{"title":"Design of a four channel green-wavelength multiplexer based on multicore polymer optical fiber","authors":"Bar Gelkop, Dror Malka","doi":"10.1016/j.optlastec.2025.113635","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing demand for compact photonic systems in the green spectral range necessitates fully integrated wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) solutions. Conventional multiplexers often rely on bulky components, resulting in high insertion losses and limited integration potential. Concurrently, advances in neuromorphic photonic computing require novel devices that support both spectral multiplexing and optical weighting within a unified platform. This study introduces a compact four-channel green-wavelength optical multiplexer based on a multi-core polymer optical fiber (MC-POF) embedded with polycarbonate (PC) cores. The device passively multiplexes light via engineered coupling between adjacent cores, operating across the 500–560 nm range without the need for external optics. Beam propagation method (BPM) simulations, combined with MATLAB-based optimization, confirm that a 20 mm fiber segment enables low insertion losses (0.13–0.55 dB), sharp channel isolation, and high thermal stability. A single optimized coupling region enables 20 nm channel spacing across four wavelengths and acts analogously to a synaptic junction, allowing simultaneous signal convergence. This design not only supports efficient green-spectrum transmission but also lays the groundwork for integrated neuromorphic photonic networks. Experimental validation was performed using a two-channel PC-MC-POF with 500 nm and 540 nm green laser sources. Collimated beams were coupled into separate fiber cores, and the multiplexed output was directly imaged using a CMOS camera. The measured far-field intensity profile closely matches simulation results, confirming effective spatial multiplexing and validating the theoretical model. The proposed PC-MC-POF multiplexer offers a scalable, low-loss, and energy-efficient solution for green-wavelength WDM systems. It serves both as a functional optical multiplexer and a foundational building block for photonic neural architectures, contributing to the development of next-generation integrated optical communication and computing technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19511,"journal":{"name":"Optics and Laser Technology","volume":"192 ","pages":"Article 113635"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Optics and Laser Technology","FirstCategoryId":"101","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0030399225012265","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The growing demand for compact photonic systems in the green spectral range necessitates fully integrated wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) solutions. Conventional multiplexers often rely on bulky components, resulting in high insertion losses and limited integration potential. Concurrently, advances in neuromorphic photonic computing require novel devices that support both spectral multiplexing and optical weighting within a unified platform. This study introduces a compact four-channel green-wavelength optical multiplexer based on a multi-core polymer optical fiber (MC-POF) embedded with polycarbonate (PC) cores. The device passively multiplexes light via engineered coupling between adjacent cores, operating across the 500–560 nm range without the need for external optics. Beam propagation method (BPM) simulations, combined with MATLAB-based optimization, confirm that a 20 mm fiber segment enables low insertion losses (0.13–0.55 dB), sharp channel isolation, and high thermal stability. A single optimized coupling region enables 20 nm channel spacing across four wavelengths and acts analogously to a synaptic junction, allowing simultaneous signal convergence. This design not only supports efficient green-spectrum transmission but also lays the groundwork for integrated neuromorphic photonic networks. Experimental validation was performed using a two-channel PC-MC-POF with 500 nm and 540 nm green laser sources. Collimated beams were coupled into separate fiber cores, and the multiplexed output was directly imaged using a CMOS camera. The measured far-field intensity profile closely matches simulation results, confirming effective spatial multiplexing and validating the theoretical model. The proposed PC-MC-POF multiplexer offers a scalable, low-loss, and energy-efficient solution for green-wavelength WDM systems. It serves both as a functional optical multiplexer and a foundational building block for photonic neural architectures, contributing to the development of next-generation integrated optical communication and computing technologies.
期刊介绍:
Optics & Laser Technology aims to provide a vehicle for the publication of a broad range of high quality research and review papers in those fields of scientific and engineering research appertaining to the development and application of the technology of optics and lasers. Papers describing original work in these areas are submitted to rigorous refereeing prior to acceptance for publication.
The scope of Optics & Laser Technology encompasses, but is not restricted to, the following areas:
•development in all types of lasers
•developments in optoelectronic devices and photonics
•developments in new photonics and optical concepts
•developments in conventional optics, optical instruments and components
•techniques of optical metrology, including interferometry and optical fibre sensors
•LIDAR and other non-contact optical measurement techniques, including optical methods in heat and fluid flow
•applications of lasers to materials processing, optical NDT display (including holography) and optical communication
•research and development in the field of laser safety including studies of hazards resulting from the applications of lasers (laser safety, hazards of laser fume)
•developments in optical computing and optical information processing
•developments in new optical materials
•developments in new optical characterization methods and techniques
•developments in quantum optics
•developments in light assisted micro and nanofabrication methods and techniques
•developments in nanophotonics and biophotonics
•developments in imaging processing and systems