Nanophotonic devices enabling flexible networks

The path to an even faster internet has been blocked by its energy consumption and cost. Optical spectrum is a limited resource because, with the massive increase in internet traffic, bandwidth has become more precious. To maximize the power and cost-effectiveness of communications, optical networks must be able to flexibly allocate bandwidth, giving each client only what it needs at any given time. We are developing nanophotonic devices and systems for flexible optical networks. For example, we recently presented a wideband tunable filter using a network-assisted counterdirectional coupler on a silicon chip. It gives a network controller the freedom to select the frequency and bandwidth of each channel and change them on the fly. Its performance is comparable to that of the best tabletop systems, but at a fraction of the size and cost. This work was presented by OSA (Read more; Paper ).