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Generic Requirements for Passive Optical Components General Information

2.4
2.4.1

Passive Optical Components - Isolators and Circulators

General Product Description

Reflection induced laser feedback in communications lasers and devices can cause performance to degrade. The most effective way to prevent this is by protecting the laser with an optical isolator, which acts as a one-way valve for a light signal. An optical circulator is a more elaborate nonreciprocal device that directs the light traffic into different paths based on its direction of propagation. Figure 2-23 shows symbols for (a) an optical isolator and (b) a three-port optical circulator.

Figure 2-23. Symbols for (a) an Optical Isolator, (b) a Three-Port Optical Circulator The lines represent optical paths. Ideally, all input power is totally transferred to the output ports (no excess loss) when a lightwave propagates along the optical paths from left to right, and all input power is totally isolated (blocked) to the output ports when a lightwave propagates along the optical paths from right to left. Circulators can have more than three ports by capturing and directing the lightwave in any blocked path to a new port for output. Such nonreciprocal devices are based on the Faraday effect that breaks the time reversal symmetry as the optical signal propagates through a medium with magneto-optical properties. In 1842, Michael Faraday discovered that the principle plane of polarization of light in glass in a magnetic field is rotated in the same sense, regardless of the direction of propagation. Thus, for example, when a 45 Faraday rotator is sandwiched between two linear polarizers (as in Figure 2-24, which shows a schematic diagram of this type of isolator) that have their principal planes at +45 the forwardpropagating light is transmitted with very little attenuation (+ means the principal axis of the output polarizer with respect to that of the input polarizer is turned in the same sense as the Faraday rotator). However, backward-propagating light from any reflections in the system is polarized by the output polarizer, rotated through the same +45 by the Faraday rotator, finds itself perpendicular to the principle plane of the input polarizer and is blocked. The performance of an isolator is primarily defined by backward loss (commonly referred to as isolation) and the insertion loss. The isolation for an

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Figure 2-24. Schematic Showing Operation of a Magneto-Optical Isolator in-line or free-space isolator, I1, is the ratio of the input power, P1, to the transmitted power, P0, in the blocking direction, in units of dB. I1 = 10 log 10 (Pi/P0) in dB

Extinction ratio for an isolator is the ratio of transmitted to blocked power, but for most isolators, in which isolation is much higher than insertion loss, the extinction ratio approximately equals the isolation. The isolation of a device depends on the overall design as well as the quality of materials and processing steps used in the construction. In the polarizer/analyzer design of Figure 2-24 the extent to which such an isolator succeeds in suppressing back reflection depends on the extinction ratio of the input/output polarizers, reflected stray light from the individual elements, and the accuracy and stability of the +45 Faraday rotator. Materials as well as structural parameters usually tend to confine the operating wavelength and temperature range of the device. Figure 2-25 shows an example of the temperature dependence of backward loss for single-stage and double-stage isolators.

70 60 Isolation 50 (dB) 40 30 20 single-stage double-stage

-20

20

40

60

80

Temperature (C)

Figure 2-25. An Example of Temperature Dependence of the Backward Loss in Single-Stage and Double-Stage Isolators

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For the single-stage case, a device designed for maximum isolation from 20C to 30C would have a compromised performance by as much as 15 dB from 70C to 80C. The performance of an isolator can be enhanced over a broader temperature and wavelength range through materials choice and stable composite structure. However, the peak isolation for a single-stage Faraday rotator design in this type of an isolator is usually limited to -40 dB. For higher isolation one has to use a double stage isolator or resort to a different design, such as a walk-off or birefringent design. These incorporate a birefringent crystal to spatially separate the ordinary and extraordinary beams from each other. In the forward direction the two beams are recombined at entrance to the output fiber pigtail. In the backward direction, however, the two beams are spatially separated and both miss the entrance into the input fiber pigtail. Since a physical separation of two well defined Gaussian beams is the principle behind this design, the degree of isolation is higher than the polarization/analyzer design. Another advantage of this design is the possibility of recombining the two beams at yet a third fiber pigtail, which becomes the third output transforming the isolator to a circulator.

2.4.2 2.4.2.1

Isolator and Circulator Classes Polarization/analyzer Isolators

The operation principle of a polarizer/analyzer type isolator is shown in Figure 2-24. The extinction ratio of this type of isolator relies primarily on the extinction ratio of the polarizer/analyzer combination and the wavelength of the rotator. In the simple design shown in Figure 2-24, there is a 3 dB insertion loss for unpolarized light. The component of light polarized perpendicular to the input polarizer may be retrieved in more sophisticated designs at added cost. Therefore, this type of an isolator is best suited for highly polarized laser radiation. As mentioned before, the performance of this kind of isolator is limited to extinction ratio -40 dB. The magnitude of extinction ratio of this type of isolator can be enhanced by using two single stage isolators in tandem, as shown in Figure 2-26. This can also be used to broaden the usable wavelength window.

Figure 2-26. Configuration of a Cascaded Optical Isolator

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The polarization axis of the input/output polarizers of the second/first stage isolators are aligned for maximum throughput. By staggering the peak in the temperature and/or wavelength dependence of the extinction ratio on the operation range hence the performance of the two-stage isolator can be enhanced substantially. Figure 2-25 shows the enhanced temperature range for operation of a double stage isolator compared with that of a single-stage. In applications where the primary interest is to eliminate a single reflection at a very well defined wavelength there is another device that can be constructed by using a linear polarizer followed by a quarter-wave plate. This is a reciprocal device that does not use a Faraday rotator. The principle of operation is shown in Figure 2-27.

/4

R
Figure 2-27. Operating Principle of a Reciprocal Isolator The quarter-wave plate changes the linearly polarized light into a circularly polarized light. The singly reflected light has the same sense of circular polarization but is traveling in the opposite direction. Therefore, when it passes through the quarter-wave plate it becomes linearly polarized, but perpendicular to the axis of polarization of the linear polarizer. The extinction ratio for such a device can be as high as a single stage polarizer/analyzer type isolator, but is limited to a very small wavelength range.

2.4.2.2

Walk-off Isolators

This category of isolators rely on the property of a birefringent crystal to spatially separate or recombine the components of the light beam that are polarized perpendicular to each other. Since in the forward direction the two beams are completely recombined, this kind of isolator is inherently polarization insensitive and ideal for telecommunication applications. An implementation of walk-off principle is shown in Figure 2-28 that is also significant because it lends itself to mass production.

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Figure 2-28. Operating Principle for a Polarization Independent Walk-Off Isolator At the heart of the device is a composite sandwich of four planar elements that is inserted into an opening cut through a Thermally Expanded Core (TEC) fiber. The auto-aligned TEC fibers are used for coupling the light instead of a lens combination that needs alignment. The succession of the elements in the composite starting from input TEC fiber side is (1) a birefingent plate used as a spatial walk-off polarizer (SWP 1), (2) a Faraday rotator, (3) a half-wave plate, and (4) a second spatial walkoff polarizer (SWP 2). The optical axes of the two birefringent plates are positioned so that the ordinary beam is not laterally displaced, but the extraordinary beam is displaced upward by SWP 1 and downward by SWP 2 through the same distance, D. What distinguishes the forward from backward direction is the position of the half-wave plate that is after or before the Faraday rotator, respectively. The principle of operation of the isolator is shown schematically in the lower part of Figure 2-28. The circles and bisecting lines indicate the spatial position and polarization direction, respectively. Since there is no offset between the input and output TEC, a feature that also simplifies the assembling, in the forward direction the ordinary and extraordinary lights are recombined at the output TEC fiber. However, the backward beams arrive at points that are offset from core of the input TEC. Characteristics of the isolator are determined qualitatively as follows. The forward loss is due to diffraction and Fresnel reflections due to index mismatches, whereas the backward loss is due to diffraction and the offset D which is the distance between the core of the input TEC and the backward light beam. If we increase D by increasing the thickness of the single-wavelength polarizer (SWP), a

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high backward loss can be obtained. At the same time, however, the insertion loss increases. Characteristics thus depend on the polarization splitting efficiency of SWP, defined as the beam splitting angle, which is 5.7 for rutile and 15.5 for LPS crystals. Using LPS crystal for beam separation, an offset distance D = 90m and isolation of ~70 dB for an insertion loss of ~ 1 dB has been demonstrated in a single stage walk-off isolator.

2.4.2.3

Optical Circulators

In an N-port circulator, light from port I couples only to port I+1, and that from port N only to port 1. However, the function of the light coupling from port N to port 1 is not necessary for most circulator applications. A nonreciprocal circuit, which operates like a circulator but excludes the coupling form port N to port 1 is referred to as a quasi-circulator, and has a simpler structure. Circulators usually have more than one Faraday rotator as well as additional bulk optics elements for routing the beam. The backward beam is prevented from entering the input port and is re-directed to exit from a third port with low loss. Figure 2-29 shows a schematic drawing for a polarization independent quasicirculator that consists of two polarizing beam splitters (PBSs), two pentagonal prisms, two nonreciprocal Faraday rotators (NRRs), and two walk-off PBSs.

Figure 2-29. Schematic for a Polarization Independent Quasi-Circulator Each NRR rotates the polarization plane of light propagating in the + z direction by - 45 and light propagating in the z direction by +45. Both walk-off PBSs are birefringent crystal blocks having the same length but the optical axes of these birefringent crystal blocks are not parallel. One birefringent crystal block (walk-off PBS 1) is set such that +45 (-45) azimuth linearly polarized light propagating in the +z (-z) direction is an extraordinary wave. This extraordinary wave propagating in the z direction walks off simultaneously along the x and y axes by d and +d respectively. By contrast, the other birefrigent crystal block (walk-off PBS 2) is set such that -45 (+45) azimuth light in the +z (-z) direction is the extraordinary wave. This extraordinary wave propagating in the z direction walks off simultaneously along the x and y axes by d and d, respectively.

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An unpolarized light beam from Fiber 1 is divided into two linearly polarized light beams by PBS 1. The paths of these beams are shown with broken lines in Figure 2-29. One beam (Beam 1) passes through PBS 1 and the other beam (Beam 1) is reflected by PBS 1 and Pentagonal Prism 1. These beams then enter NRR 1, and their azimuths are rotated by -45. Consequently, Beam 1 enters walk-off PBS 1 with -45 azimuth, and Beam 1 enters walk-off PBS 2 with +45 azimuth. Beams 1 and 1 pass through walk-off PBSs 1 and 2 without walk off, respectively. Since NRR 2 rotates the azimuth of light propagating in the +z direction by -45, Beams 1 and 1 emerge from NRR 2 with -90 and 0 azimuths, respectively. Beam 1 is then reflected by Pentagonal Prism 2 and PBS 2 and Beam 1 passes through PBS 2. In this manner, these beams are combined and coupled into Fiber 2. Light coupling from Fiber 2 to Fiber 3 is explained with Figure 2-30 (a)-(d) which schematically show positions and polarizations of beams from Fiber 2.

Figure 2-30. Positions and Polarization of Beam 2 and Beam 2 on Some Element Surfaces (a) A A, (b) B B, (c) C C, and (d) D D in Figure 2-29 In these figures, optical power is roughly indicated by the line length: the longer line means the higher power. Main beams are the pair of longest lines in each figure. An unpolarized light beam from Fiber 2 is divided into two linearly polarized light beams by PBS 2. The paths of these beams are shown with dotted lines in Figure 2-29. One beam (Beam 2) passes through PBS 2, and the other beam (Beam 2) is reflected by PBS 2 and Pentagonal Prism 2 (Figure 2-30a). These beams pass through NRR 2 and the azimuths of Beams 2 and 2 are changed to +45 and -45, respectively (Figure 2-30b). Beams 2 and 2 then enter into walk-off PBSs 2 and 1, respectively. Since Beam 2, having a +45 azimuth, is the extraordinary wave of walk-off PBS 2, Beam 2 emerges from it with walk-off along the x and the y axes by d and d, respectively. For the same reason, Beam 2 emerges from walk-off PBS 1 with walk-off along the x and y axes by d and +d (Figure 2-30c). NRR 1 rotates the azimuth of light propagating in the z direction by +45, therefore, Beams 2 and 2 emerge from NRR 1 with 90 and 0 azimuths, respectively (Figure 2-30d). As Beam 2 is reflected by Pentagonal Prism 1, the axis displacement of Beam 2 is

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changed:-d along the x axis and +d along the z axis from the path of Beam 1. Therefore, Beams 2 and 2 fall on the beam splitting layers of PBS 1 at the same point. In this manner, these beams are combined and coupled into Fiber 3. Similarly, unpolarized light from Fiber 3 is coupled into Fiber 4. Consequently, the structure in Figure 2-28 operates as a polarization-independent quasi-circulator. In considering the isolation of Fiber j and Fiber i, it is particularly important to consider isolations for j = i-1 and j = i+2. The isolation for j = i+2 is degraded by reflections on surfaces of the optical elements. Therefore, this kind of isolation depends little on wavelength, and can be improved by applying anti-reflection coatings and angling the surfaces the elements. On the other hand, the isolation for j = i-1 is mainly degraded by imperfection of polarization separation and inaccuracy of azimuth rotation.

2.4.3

Isolator Technology

For a practical isolator and/or circulator the device must be compact. For the telecommunications windows in the 1310 nm and 1550 nm spectral regions, two Faraday rotator materials have emerged for common use in isolators; bulk yttrium iron garnet (YIG) crystals and thick films of bismuth-substituted iron garnet (BIG) films, the latter typically produced by liquid-phase epitaxy. Unfortunately, isolators are not commonly available for dual 1310 nm and 1550 nm operation. While they typically remain transparent in both windows, the peak isolation designed for one window will degrade significantly in the opposite window. The final choice of material depends upon the price, application, environment and location of the isolator. Performance is typically described by several criteria: wavelength sensitivity, temperature sensitivity, extinction ratio and insertion loss. Numerous formulations for BIG crystalline thick films and for YIG single crystals are now available from several manufacturers. For the purpose of this overview, we shall limit our comparison to a BIG film in common usage, with the formula (HoTbBi)3 Fe5012 and YIG, with the formula Y3Fe5012. Wavelength sensitivity is the extent to which rotation changes per unit change in wavelength. It is expressed in terms of degrees of rotation per unit wavelength [/nm]. A direct comparison of the two materials shows the coefficients of change for YIG and BIG to be 0.046 and 0.068/nm, respectively at 1550 nm. When translated to bandwidth for 35 dB isolation, the numbers are +/-14 nm for this BIG formulation and +/-20 nm for YIG (see Figure 2-31). The comparable numbers at 1310nm are +/-11nm and +/-16nm, respectively. These bandpasses are considerably narrower than the +/- 50nm used in SONET transmission (see GR-253-CORE, Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) Transport Systems: Common Generic Criteria) and the +/- 20 nm used in AMVSB video transmission (see GR-2853-CORE, Generic Requirements for AM/ Digital Video Laser Transmitters, Optical Fiber Amplifiers and Receivers). Dual stage (or other wavelength range broadening technology) in-line isolators are necessary to conform to the bandpass criteria in Section 4 for these applications.

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Figure 2-31. Isolation Bandwidths for Isolators Made using Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) and Bismuth Iron Garnet (BIG) at 1550 nm Temperature sensitivity, the change in rotation per unit change in temperature [/C] is a significant factor for any device operating in the uncontrolled outside plant environment. The temperature range for 35dB isolation in a polarizer/ analyzer type device is +/-16C for this BIG material and +/-30C for YIG. This relative insensitivity to changes in temperature for YIG is one of the principal reason for its wide appeal. The different procedures used to manufacture the two types of Faraday rotator materials influences the uniformity and hence the quality of each material. Optical grade YIG is grown by the molten-salt technique, also called the flux method. To get from as-grown crystals to highly polished Faraday rotators with tight tolerances is a multistep process consisting of diamond saw cutting, core drilling, optical polishing, and anti-reflection coating. BIG is also a single crystal, but it is grown primarily by liquid-phase epitaxy. The difference is that a crystal in thin-film form is nucleated across the surface of a prefabricated substrate disk made from singlecrystal gallium garnet (or other similar material), rather than grown spontaneously. In this way, a fairly uniform layer of BIG is obtained, usually in the thickness range of 200 to 600 m, after the substrate is removed by grinding. After polishing the disk to a specific final thickness, it is anti-reflection coated and saw-cut into pieces of desired size. A review of published specifications on commercially available BIG films shows a maximum guaranteed extinction ratio of -38 dB, whereas YIG is available with an extinction ratio of -40dB for use in a polarizer/analyzer type isolator.

2.4.4

Isolator and Circulator Applications

In general, all applications are either for noise reduction or feedback prevention. Deployment of isolators in optical communications systems fall in two categories of applications distinguished from each other by the need for polarizationindependent operation. Isolators that are used after highly polarized laser sources

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can be polarization dependent. For in-line applications, polarization independent isolators are preferred.

2.4.4.1

Transmitter Protection

One of the first wide spread applications of optical isolators was to prevent reflection back into the laser cavity. For this purpose, laser diodes having narrow spectral line width and ultra stable operation are required. This can be achieved by using distributed feedback or external cavity operation. The key component of the DFB laser transmitter is the DFB integrated laser module (DFB-ILM or just ILM), which consists of a semiconductor DFB laser diode, a backfacet monitoring photodiode, optical isolator, coupling optics, a thermoelectric cooler, and a temperature sensor, all in a hermetically-sealed package (Figure 2-32).

Figure 2-32. A Schematic Configuration of the DFB Integrated Laser Module Highly efficient isolators are now commonly included in the laser transmitter package to prevent back reflection from the fiber junction and for extending the diode laser lifetime. Some cw pump lasers also require optical isolators to prevent premature degradation.

2.4.4.2

Optical Amplifiers

Optical amplifiers are replacing regenerators in many optical networks due to their cost effectiveness, independence of transmission bit-rate and signal format, and compatibility with WDM. The rapid progress in deployment of erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) in optical transmission systems has focused much attention on isolators and in particular on their cost. Isolators are used in optical amplifiers to prevent positive feedback that could turn the amplifier into a laser and to reduce multiple reflection-induced noise. Isolators for amplifiers require a high, polarization-insensitive extinction ratio and a sufficiently wide optical bandpass to accommodate WDM.

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Feedback may be particularly severe for EDFAs (Erbium doped fiber amplifier) with signal gains in excess of 30dB. For details on optical fiber amplifiers (OFAs) see GR-1312-CORE (Generic Requirements for Optical Fiber Amplifiers and Proprietary Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexed Systems) on the generic specifications of OFAs, both of which employ a black box approach to OFAs. The black box, represented in Figure 2-33a and b, may or may not contain an isolator but typically consists of a gain module (G) followed (a) or preceded (b) by one isolator or both. The additional isolator preceding (a) or following (b) the black box may be used to improve the OFAs performance.

G (a)
2.4.4.3 In-Line Noise Reduction

G (b)

Figure 2-33. OFA Gain Module Followed (a) or Preceded (b) by an Isolator

The optical power traveling in the opposite direction to the intended direction of the signal is a major source of noise. In this respect, deployment of an optical isolator in a strategic location may be a cost effective means of improving a transmission systems performance. When the source of backward propagating optical power is a discrete reflection, the use of isolators to improve system performance should be considered a temporary fix, until the source of the reflection can be located and removed. Specifically, the following two examples demand the use of isolators. Placement of an isolator at the beginning of an intense optical signal prevents backward Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) from perturbing the transmitter. SBS occurs when an intense, externally modulated signal having very narrow spectral line width is injected into a long length of fiber.9 SBS generates unwanted optical power in the backward direction. Placement of an isolator between two reflection points in a fiber optic line can eliminate noise caused by multiple path reflections. Such noise is generated due to phase-noise-to-amplitude-noise conversion of a multiple reflection signal arriving at a detector with the same wavelength but with a random phase, with respect to the
9. See, for example, Y. Aoki, K. Tajima and I Mito, Input power limits of single-mode optical fibers due to stimulated Brilouin Scattering in optical communications systems.J of Lightwave Technology 6.710.1988

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directly transmitted signal. For example, consider three reflections between a transmitter and receiver (Figure 2-34).

R1 Tx

R2

R3

Rx

Figure 2-34. Three Discrete Reflections between a Transmitter and Receiver An isolator placed between the Tx and R1 or between R3 and the Rx will have no effect on reducing the multiple reflections R1R2, R2R3, R1R3. However, if the isolator is placed between R1 and R2, only the R2R3 reflection will reach the Rx.

2.4.4.4

Circulator Applications

Optical circulators provide added flexibility when replacing isolators as well as having their own unique functionality. They can be used in measurement systems, full duplex transmission systems, wavelength-division multiplexing transmission systems, etc. Most of these applications require circulators to have high isolation over a wide wavelength range as well as low insertion loss.

2.4.4.4.1

Bidirectional Transmission

Figure 2-35 shows how optical circulators can be used to achieve bidirectional transmission over a single fiber.

Mux A
1310 nm Tx 1310 nm Rx

Mux B
1310 nm Tx

Main

conventional fiber

1310 nm Rx

1310 nm Tx 1310 nm Rx

1310 nm Tx

Protect
1310 nm Rx

Figure 2-35. Bidirectional Transmission Using Circulators In the conventional bidirectional transmission system with a single optical fiber, either a 3 dB coupler or a WDM coupler is used to combine and separate the upstream and downstream signals. The use of optical circulators in these systems

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replaces the greater than 6 dB insertion loss penalty associated with a pair of optical couplers with only a 2 or 3 dB loss for a pair of circulators. This results in an increase in the system budget as well as providing isolation protection for the transmitter. In this application, an optical circulator simultaneously replaces the function of a coupler and an isolator. Circulators may be especially useful for upgrading existing systems in which the available power margin is less than 6 dB. Using circulators for bidirectional transmission provides wavelengthindependent operation, which provides flexibility in source selection. This makes optical circulators superior to WDM couplers for this application.

2.4.4.4.2

Optical Amplifiers and Systems

Optical circulators are also receiving attention for use in optical amplifiers and optically amplified systems. Isolators are commonly used in amplifiers to prevent lasing, making the amplifier a unidrectional gain module. Replacing the isolator with a circulator enables bi-directional transmission through the amplifier. In this case, the same optical carrier may be used for both downstream and upstream signals. In addition to increasing the power budget for the signal, a circulator allows remote pumping of a Erbium-doped fiber which is a part of a passive customer premises equipment. A reflective double-pass fiber amplifier using an optical circulator, as shown in Figure 2-36 has been proposed to increase the amplifier efficiency and to reduce the pump threshold.10 FRM Er-fiber WDM Pump Input Circulator Figure 2-36. A Reflective Double-Pass Fiber Amplifier Using an Optical Circulator 2.4.4.4.3 Dispersion Compensation Output

The rapid growth in the terrestrial use of EDFAs to enhance the performance of existing optical networks has generated interest in dispersion-compensating fibers.

10.See S. Nishi, K. Aida, K. Nakazawa, High efficient configuration of EDFA Proceeding of ECOC90, Vol. 1, page 99, 1994.

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For detailed criteria on dispersion compensators, see GR-2854-CORE, Generic Requirements for Fiber Optic Dispersion Compensators. These fibers compensate for the 17 ps/nm-km chromatic dispersion of the conventional SMF when carrying the optically amplified signals in the 1550 nm gain band width of EDFAs. Research suggests that using a circulator and a Faraday mirror as shown in Figure 2-37 11 reduces the required length of the DCF by half and cancels the polarization mode dispersion.

Figure 2-37. Dispersion Compensation Using an Optical Circulator However, the DCF backscatter adds to the signal, and multiple reflection noise is enhanced in this configuration.

2.4.4.4.4

Optical MUX/DEMUX

Research and development of fiber grating for a variety of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) applications may result in a need for circulators because fiber grating devices operate by reflecting part of the light at a prescribed wavelength. Figure 2-38 shows one possible configuration for an optical add/drop multiplexer, which is independent of bit-rate.
Port 3
all s new i Filter old i new i from OLTM Port 2 Port 1 old i to OLTM Port 4 all s old i + new i

Figure 2-38. A Schematic for an Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer Using Optical Circulators
11. J-M P. Delavoux, J.A. Nagel, K. Ogawaand D. Di Giovanni, COBRA; Compensating Optical Balanced Reflectance Amplifier. Proc. ECOC94, vol. 4, pp 6.,1994.

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Traffic incoming from Port 3 is routed to the reflective filter by the top circulator. The reflective filter reflects all channels except for , which it transmits. The reflected channels are directed by the top circulator for output at port 4. The transmitted channel , is directed to Port 1 by the bottom circulator for detection by an Optical Line Terminating Multiplexer (OLTM), and injected into Port 2 carrying new information. The new transmit through the filter and is output at Port 4, where it joins the other optical channels.

2.5

Passive Optical Modules

A passive optical module is defined as a product that contains two or more individual qualifiable passive optical components or functions assembled into the same package. The package may be hermetic or non-hermetic. The components may be combined or connected such that the module provides a higher level function, or they may be arranged separately in an array designed to accommodate a system architecture requirement. Passive modules in general may contain passive, active, and other types of components such as heaters and thermoelectric coolers (TEC). Individual subcomponents shall be qualified to the appropriate standard, such as GR-1209-CORE for passives and GR-468-CORE, Generic Reliability Assurance Requirements for Optoelectronic Devices Used In Telecommunications Equipment, for actives. Optical Amplifier Module requirements are specifically discussed in GR-1312CORE. Passive optical modules contain only passive components. Some examples are Multiple WDM components (for Mux/Demux or DWDM functions) Add-Drop Module comprised of filters and circulators (see Figure 2-38) Multiple couplers or splitter in the same package Daisy-chained passive components in the same package, with internal fiber management. Passive optical modules may include other components not covered by GR-1209-CORE. Some examples are: WDM module packaged with optical attenuators (GR-910-CORE), optical switches (GR-1073-CORE), or other optical elements. (GR-357-CORE may be used for guidance on some other components.) Modules containing passive components and packaged with heaters, TEC, or active sensors. The fully assembled module shall be qualified by optical, mechanical, and environmental performance and reliability tests. The manufacturer shall identify the parameters for characterization based on the design and specification of the integrated module. The manufacturer shall determine, with justification, the weakest link (the least reliable component) and develop the appropriate qualifications accordingly. The level of functionality, port-count, physical size/ mass, and customer system requirements may also be important factors in

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