There is increasing interest worldwide in high density wavelength division multiplexing as a cost-effective means of providing much higher capacity in optical networks. Whereas most work to date has concentrated on fiber-to-fiber demultiplexers this paper describes the design, development, and optical performance of a novel demultiplexer in which a diode array replaces the array of fibers at the output. This work is a necessary stepping stone for the longer term goal of a demultiplexer incorporating a completely integrated receiver which will offer considerable benefits in cost of manufacture and compactness. A prototype 16 channel diode coupled demultiplexer with 4 nm channel spacing has been built and tested. Its optical performance, with respect to insertion loss, optical passband, total optical crosstalk and polarization response, and taking into account expected component and manufacturing tolerances, has been determined. It is concluded that this is an attractive solution for high density wavelength division multiplexing. © 1990 IEEE
