9522200 Winick The current trend in optical communication systems is towards higher bit rates and longer distances, where fiber chromatic dispersion becomes a performance limiting factor. For example at 1.55 micron with a 20 ps gaussian pulse will expand to 60 ps after propagating through only 17 km of fiber. Recently passive optical components have been fabricated to compensate for these pulse spreading effects. The design and fabrication of more complex, grating-based, waveguide filters remains an area of active research. As part of this proposal, new classes of planar optical waveguide devices will be developed in glass and lithium niobate. Both active and passive devices will be considered. These will include miniature, erbium-ytterbium co-doped, single frequency lasers, chromium-based vibronic, lithium niobate waveguide lasers, and grating-based, waveguide filters, such as dispersion compensators. The research on chromium-doped vibronic lasers is particularly significant, since it offers the possibility of producing integrated, broadly tunable (or ultrashort pulsed) sources. Related technologies such as dual frequency, distributed Bragg reflector lasers, second harmonic generation in poled fused silica waveguides, and the elimination of spatial hole burning effects in rare earth-doped glasses will also be explored. ***
