Monolithic integrated heterodyne receivers

Future communication networks should provide high capacity data transfer and enable a maximum of flexibility in network management. Optical frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems are widely accepted to be very appropriate for these purposes. However, a prerequisite for the implementation of such systems is the availability of low cost, high performance and reliable photonic integrated circuits (PICs). In this presentation we will briefly discuss the development towards the integrated heterodyne receiver and introduce in more detail the architecture and performance of completed polarization diversity heterodyne receiver PDHR-PICs. In addition we will demonstrate, that the developed technological concept provides a basis for the integration of a variety of different PICs that are desirable for modern communication systems.