WAVELENGTH-INSENSITIVE 2X16 OPTICAL SPLITTERS DEVELOPED USING PLANAR LIGHTWAVE CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY

2 x 16 optical splitters are fabricated using SiO2-based waveguides on an Si substrate. These splitter circuits consist of one wavelength-insensitive 2 x 2 coupler and 14 Y-branch elements. The circuit chip is set in a frame with a low expansion coefficient, and input and output fibre frames are connected to opposite ends of the circuit frame. The resulting module is 14 mm wide, 105 mm long and 8 mm thick. The mean and standard deviation of the insertion loss are 13.0 and 0.4 dB, respectively, at wavelengths of both 1.3 and 1.55-mu-m.