Abstract
A 16-channel arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) with an 800 GHz channel spacing in the O-band has been developed and fabricated based on silica planar lightwave circuit (PLC) technology. By extending the wavelength allocation from 8 channels to 16 channels as specified in IEEE 802.3bs, we increased the number of channels and boosted transmission capacity to meet the 1.6 Tbps and higher-speed signal transmission requirements for future data centers. Through optimizing the AWG structure, it has achieved insertion loss (IL) better than -1.61 dB, loss uniformity below 0.35 dB, polarization-dependent loss (PDL) below 0.35 dB, adjacent channel crosstalk under -20.05 dB, ripple less than 0.75 dB, center wavelength offset under 0.22 nm and 1 dB bandwidth exceeding 2.88 nm. The AWG has been successfully measured to transmit 53 Gbaud 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) signal per channel and the total transmission speed can reach 1.6 Tbps and above.
The surge in network-intensive activities such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and live streaming has led to a substantial increase in network data traffic. This rapid growth in communication requirements has driven advancements in high-speed optical network technologies. Optical interconnects, recognized for their high speed, large bandwidth, low latency, and reduced power consumption, are increasingly substituting traditional electrical interconnects for extensive data transmission, exchange, and processing. wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology plays a crucial role in optical interconnects by addressing the bandwidth challenges associated with growing communication traffic
Silica-based AWG offers low insertion loss, low crosstalk, high uniformity, low cost, and ease of integration
In this study, we designed and fabricated a 16-channel silica-based AWG featuring low transmission loss and channel spacing of 800 GHz, suitable for large-scale wavelength multiplexing and demultiplexing in the O-band under LWDM. By analyzing the optical transmission principles of AWG, we performed simulations to fine-tune the structural parameters of the AWG. We introduced a periodically varying grating structure in the input waveguide to minimize insertion loss (IL), improve the uniformity of the transmission spectrum, and reduce polarization-dependent loss (PDL). Consequently, we achieved an insertion loss better than -1.61 dB, PDL under 0.35 dB, and loss uniformity below 0.35 dB. Additionally, we transitioned the output waveguide from a single-mode to a multimode design to achieve a more uniform output and flat-top spectrum. The 1 dB bandwidth exceeds 2.88 nm, adjacent channel crosstalk is below -20.05 dB, and the center wavelength offset is under 0.22 nm. This AWG chip supports a single-channel transmission rate of 100 Gbps, fulfilling the requirements for 1.6 Tbps optical modules in data centers. With ongoing improvements in single-channel rates, it is anticipated to reach transmission rates of 3.2 Tbps and above in the future

Fig. 1 The schematic structure of the AWG.
图1 AWG的结构示意图
The AWG is constructed on a silica-based platform, which provides low loss, low cost, compatibility with single-mode fibers, excellent thermal stability, and polarization insensitivity. In order to reduce the size of the AWG chip, the silica material system based on ultra-high refractive index difference of 2% chosen to build the waveguide structure. The refractive index of upper, lower cladding layer and core layer is 1.447,1.447, and 1.477, respectively, and the height of core layer is 4μm. Simulations are performed to investigate how the effective refractive index of the waveguide core layer varies with waveguide width, using two wavelengths—1 260 nm and 1 360 nm—to cover the O-band range. The results of these simulations, shown in

Fig. 2 Variation of mode effective refractive index with waveguide width
图2 模式有效折射率随波导宽度的变化
The transmission of light from the input Rowland circle to the output waveguide in the AWG satisfies the grating equation:
, | (1) |
When light is transmitted from the central input waveguide to the central output waveguide, the input angle and output angle are zero,
, | (2) |
, | (3) |
, | (4) |
In the equation, represents the angle between the central waveguide and the output waveguide, while and denote the effective refractive indices of the slab waveguide and the arrayed waveguide, respectively. The variable stands for the distance between adjacent arrayed waveguides, indicates the length difference between these waveguides, and denotes the diffraction order. The symbol represents the wavelength of the incoming light, is the central wavelength, refers to the spacing between adjacent output waveguides, is the group index, and signifies the radius of the rowland circle. In order to obtain lower insertion loss and less crosstalk in the spectra of neighboring diffraction levels, and to ensure that the device size is appropriate, the FSR is chosen to be 127.86 nm, and then according to Eqs. (
Simulation by the three-dimensional beam propagation method (3D-BPM) determines how the coupling loss varies with the spacing between single-mode waveguides, each extending 3000 μm in parallel.

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(b)
Fig. 3 (a) Simulated mode field propagation at 6 µm spacing; (b) Simulated mode field propagation at 8 µm spacing
图三 (a)6 µm间距时的模拟模场传播;(b)8 µm间距时的模拟模场传播
The optical field of an individual arrayed waveguide displays a Gaussian profile

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(b)
Fig. 4 (a)The top view of a parabolic taper; (b) Parabolic tapered waveguide transmission field
图4 (a)抛物线型锥形波导的俯视图;(b)抛物线型锥形波导的传输模场
To achieve a flattened spectrum at the output end, we widened the output waveguide to a multimode waveguide. When light is focused and coupled into the output waveguide through the output slab, higher-order modes are excited. The interference of multiple modes results in a flattened spectral output. The simulated spectra with different output waveguide widths are shown in
Width/ | 1 dB bandwidth/nm |
---|---|
4 | 0.56 |
7 | 1.96 |
9 | 2.69 |
11 | 3.29 |
13 | 3.94 |
Additionally, simulation is performed to assess the influence of multimode waveguide spacing on crosstalk between adjacent waveguides, as depicted in

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(b)
Fig. 5 (a)Spectra corresponding to different output waveguide widths;(b) Simulated mode field propagation at 14 µm spacing
图5 (a)不同输出波导宽度对应的光谱曲线;(b)14 µm间距下的模拟模式场传输
In determining the other parameters, the wavelength spacing between adjacent channels is approximated to be 4.56 nm, but the channels are divided by equal frequency intervals, and the corresponding wavelength intervals are inconsistent, so in order to ensure that the channels are all spaced at 800 GHz, the center wavelength needs to be realigned. According to
Adjacent channels | (nm) | (nm) |
---|---|---|
1-2 | 4.31 | 13.88 |
2-3 | 4.34 | 13.98 |
3-4 | 4.37 | 14.07 |
4-5 | 4.40 | 14.17 |
5-6 | 4.43 | 14.27 |
6-7 | 4.46 | 14.37 |
7-8 | 4.49 | 14.47 |
8-9 | 4.53 | 14.57 |
9-10 | 4.56 | 14.67 |
10-11 | 4.59 | 14.77 |
11-12 | 4.62 | 14.87 |
12-13 | 4.65 | 14.98 |
13-14 | 4.69 | 15.09 |
14-15 | 4.72 | 15.19 |
15-16 | 4.75 | 15.30 |

Fig. 6 The schematic of 16-channel AWG
图6 16通道AWG的版图示意图
The AWG is manufactured on a 6 inch quartz substrate wafer, bypassing the traditional method of thermally oxidizing a 15-μm thick SiO2 lower-cladding layer on a silicon substrate. The fabrication process, depicted in

Fig.7 The schematic diagram of the 16-channel AWG fabrication process
图7 16通道AWG的制造工艺流程图

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(b)

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Fig. 8 (a) The photograph of the manufactured AWG chip; (b) the microscope image of the manufactured AWG chip, and (c) the photograph of the packaged 16-channel AWG module
图8 (a)制造好的 AWG 芯片的照片;(b)制造好的 AWG 芯片的显微镜图像;(c)封装好的16通道AWG模块的照片
Utilizing the experimental setup shown in

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(b)
Fig. 9 (a) The experimental setup for testing spectral response;(b) The measured spectral response.
图九 (a)测试光谱响应的实验装置图;(b)测得的光谱响应图

Fig.10 (a) insertion loss for each channel; (b) polarization-dependent loss; (c) crosstalk;(d) ripple;(e) offset; (f) bandwidth
图10 (a)各通道的插入损耗;(b)偏振相关损耗;(c)串扰;(d)纹波;(e)中心波长偏移;(f)带宽
We conduct eye diagram testing on all channels of the AWG for PAM-4 signals. We use an arbitrary waveform generator to generate a 53.125 Gbaud PAM4 signal, which is modulated through an electro-optical modulator onto the optical signal emitted from the tunable laser. The optical signal is then input to the AWG and an oscilloscope is used to capture an eye diagram of the output optical signal from all channels of the AWG. The eye diagrams at standard wavelengths obtained from the test are shown in

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Fig.11 (a) Experimental setup for testing eye diagrams and (b) the measured 53.125 GBaud PAM4 optical eye diagrams for all channels:图十一 (a)测试眼图的实验装置图(b)所有通道的 53.125 GBaud PAM4 光眼图测量结果
We have successfully designed and fabricated an O-band 16-channel AWG with 800 GHz channel spacing based on an ultra-high refractive index difference of 2% silica PLC platform. The transitions between the arrayed waveguides and the slab waveguides are designed as tapered structures, optimizing the insertion loss to be under -1.61 dB, loss uniformity below 0.35 dB. The output waveguides are widened into multimode waveguides to improve the flatness of the output spectrum, resulting in a 1 dB bandwidth greater than 2.88 nm and maintaining crosstalk below -20.05 dB. At the same time, PDL is below 0.35 dB, the center wavelength offset is under 0.22 nm, and the ripple is less than 0.75 dB. We further validate that the AWG is capable of transmitting 53.125 GBaud PAM4 signal per channel, making it suitable for use in 1.6T data center networks. This design provides low insertion loss, low crosstalk, polarization insensitivity and high uniformity, making it highly suitable for optical modules in data centers, enabling signal transmission rates of 1.6 Tbps and above.
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