Digital holographic tuning mechanism for WDM

A novel non-mechanical and digital tuning mechanism suitable for receivers and sources in a WDM network has been developed. It is inherently stable, precise and repeatable, and has the additional advantages of polarization insensitivity, optical transparency, and the potential for low insertion losses. A wavelength filter with a channel spacing of 1.3 nm, tunable over 82 nm has been successfully demonstrated and used within a tunable fibre laser with a tuning range of 38.5 nm across the erbium window and with an output power of 10 mW.