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Summary form only given. Thin film interference filters using five and six cavity designs are shown to be a suitable and practical method for optical multiplexing and demultiplexing 25 GHz spaced DWDM data signals for up to OC192 data rates. Filters were grown in vacuum deposition chambers using physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques. Experimental results show good agreement with theoretical values and low overall loss and square filter functions. Chromatic dispersion and group delay of the filters are shown to be manageable at OC192.

This paper describes novel semiconductor sources for optical low coherence reflectometry (OLCR), a measurement technique for characterizing device and fiber reflections with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution. Lasers and conventional superluminescent LEDs are not suitable for OLCR because strong reflections from the back facets mask weak reflection signals from the device or fiber under test. Even standard edge emitting LEDs (EELEDs) show significant reflections, which have limited the dynamic range of previous measurements. Low source output powers have also limited sensitivity. In order to obtain high power while minimizing internal reflections, a high single pass gain device is required. The record combination of high power and low internal reflections of the InGaAsP EELEDs reported here significantly expands the dynamic range and sensitivity of LED based reflectometry at 1.5 /spl mu/m. This work also compares the characteristics of quantum well and bulk EELEDs. >