New architecture of tunable acoustooptical add/drop multiplexer for dynamic DWDM with 25 GHz ITU grid

A new architecture of a compact (6/spl times/3 mm/sup 2/) noncollinear acoustooptic tunable add/drop multiplexer, based on multi-reflector beam expanders, is presented. Beam expanding technology provides (for an optical aperture of only 0.58 cm) a -3 dB linewidth around 13 GHz that is many times smaller and far beyond the practical limits of traditional acoustooptic devices. The proposed device is intended for intelligent local area networks with many hundreds of wavelength channels and a 25 GHz ITU grid.