Design of a dynamically configurable OADM device

A dynamically configurable optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) device was proposed based on volume holographic gratings in doubly doped lithium niobate crystals and the principles of optical crystallography. The device consists of a wavelength demultiplexer module and an array of 2×2 electro-optic switches based on the internal reflection on the surface of the crystal. Two design schemes were presented: OADM based on discrete crystals with unifunctional integration and OADM based on monolithic crystal with multifunctional integration. This device can dynamically select signal channels that need to be added or dropped and simultaneously add/drop arbitrary signal channels. The suggested OADM has superior properties of simple and compact construction, convenient manipulation, lowered insertion losses and resistance to environmental perturbation.