Broadband high-resolution integrated spectrometer architecture & data processing method

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel integrated spectrometer architecture on a single chip that achieves high-resolution spectral measurement across the entire C-band, combining a tunable ring resonator and an AWG with a new processing algorithm.

Contribution

It introduces a two-stage integrated spectrometer design with a novel data processing method, enabling high-resolution, broadband spectral monitoring on a CMOS-compatible chip.

Findings

Demonstrated a ring resonator with 1.3 GHz FWHM resonances over the C-band.

Achieved tunability of resonances over a 50 GHz free spectral range.

Validated system operation using industry-standard simulation tools.

Abstract

Up-to-date network telemetry is the key enabler for resource optimization by capacity scaling, fault recovery, and network reconfiguration among other means. Reliable optical performance monitoring in general and, specifically, the monitoring of the spectral profile of WDM signals in fixed- and flex- grid architectures across the entire C-band, remains challenging. This article describes a two-stage spectrometer architecture amenable to integration on a single chip that can measure quantitatively the spectrum across the entire C-band with a resolution of 1 GHz approximately. The first stage consists of a ring resonator with intra-ring phase shifter to provide a tuneable fine filter. The second stage makes use of an AWG subsystem and novel processing algorithm to synthesize a tuneable coarse filter with a flat passband which isolates individual resonances of a multiplicity of ring resonances. Due to its maturity and low loss, CMOS compatible Si$_3$N$_4$ is chosen for integration. A fabricated ring resonator functioning over the entire C-band with 1.3 GHz FWHM bandwidth resonances tunable over a complete free spectral range of 50 GHz is experimentally demonstrated. The complete system operation is demonstrated using an industry standard simulation tool and AWG constructor data. The operation of the circuit is invariant to the optical path length between individual components substantially improving robustness to fabrication process variations.