JP2014003630A - Coherent optical detector having multifunctional waveguide grating - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coherent optical detector having a multifunctional waveguide grating.SOLUTION: A waveguide grating 342 serves at least three different functions, e.g., those of a fiber-optic coupler 320, a polarization splitter, and two power splitters, one for each of two orthogonal polarizations. A coherent optical detector 300 can be used to demodulate various forms of polarization-division-multiplexed (PDM) QAM- and/or PSK-modulated optical communication signals.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The subject matter of this application is the subject matter of US patent application Ser. No. 12 / 229,983 entitled “Monolithic Coherent Optical Detectors” filed on August 28, 2008, and December 18, 2008. Related to the subject matter of US patent application Ser. No. 12 / 338,492, entitled “Optical Mixer for Coherent Detection of Polarization-Multiplexed Signals”, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

  The present invention relates to optical communication devices, and more specifically, but not exclusively, to coherent detectors for optical receivers.

  This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the present invention (s). Accordingly, the description in this section should be read in this light and should not be understood as an admission of what is prior art or what is not prior art.

  The coherent light detection method can detect not only the amplitude of the optical signal but also the polarization and phase of the signal. These capabilities are in various forms (eg, differential PSK (DPSK) and differential quadrature PSK (DQPSK)), polarization division multiplexing, such as quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and phase shift keying (PSK), and Coherent light detection that is compatible with the use of spectrally efficient modulation formats. Compared to incoherent detectors, coherent photodetectors have relatively easy wavelength tunability, better rejection of adjacent channels in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems, and modern digital signal processing It provides the linear transformation from electromagnetic field to electrical signal for the effective application of the technology and the opportunity to use polarization division multiplexing. As a result, coherent photodetectors are currently being actively developed.

US Pat. No. 7,065,272 US Pat. No. 7,058,259 US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0152362 US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0152363 US Pat. No. 7,343,104

  Various embodiments of coherent photodetectors having a three-dimensional circuit, in which a plurality of waveguides are connected to a waveguide grating, are disclosed herein. In an exemplary embodiment, the waveguide grating has at least the function of an optical fiber coupler, the function of a polarization splitter, and the function of two power splitters, one for each of two orthogonal polarizations. Provides three different functions. Various embodiments of the coherent photodetector can be used to demodulate various forms of polarization division multiplexed (PDM) QAM modulated and / or PSK modulated optical communication signals.

  According to one embodiment, an apparatus is provided having a first waveguide grating and a first plurality of waveguides connected to the first waveguide grating. The first plurality includes a first waveguide and a second waveguide that is collinear with the first waveguide at the first waveguide grating. The optical power of the first polarization of the first optical signal applied to the first waveguide grating is separated by the first waveguide grating and coupled to the first and second waveguides. When the first optical signal includes a component having the first carrier wavelength, the optical power of the first polarization of the component is separated by the first waveguide grating and is transmitted to the first and second waveguides. Combined.

  Other aspects, features, and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, by way of example.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a differential photodetector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a differential photodetector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of a differential photodetector according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of a coherent photodetector according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

  1A-B schematically illustrate a differential photodetector 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 1A shows a schematic top view of detector 100. FIG. 1B shows an enlarged top view of the optical fiber coupling region 140 of the detector 100. The detector 100 can be used, for example, for optical differential phase shift keying (DPSK) demodulation of polarization division multiplexing (PDM) communication signals. Alternatively or additionally, the detector 100 can be used to demodulate non-PDM DPSK communication signals in a polarization independent manner. As is known in the art, a DPSK demodulator operates to convert an optical DPSK signal into an intensity modulated signal and is typically used in a receiver of a fiber optic communication network. As used herein, the term “PDM signal” refers to an optical signal that includes two independent modulation components having the same wavelength but in the orthogonal state of polarization.

  The detector 100 includes a three-dimensional circuit 110 that optically couples to four photodetectors (eg, photodiodes) 130a-d via two 2x2 optical couplers 120a-b. In one embodiment, the stereo circuit 110, the optical couplers 120a-b, and the photodetectors 130a-d are all monolithic optoelectronics using, for example, the integrated technology disclosed in previously referenced US patent application Ser. No. 12 / 229,983. It is implemented in an integrated circuit (PIC). Similarly, other known integration techniques can be used.

  Referring to FIG. 1B, the coupling region 140 of the three-dimensional circuit 110 includes a waveguide grating 142. In the exemplary embodiment, the grating 142 includes a plurality of cavities, pillars, and / or holes 144 that are etched into or formed in the top surface of the ridge waveguide and are two-dimensional rectangular or rectangular. The pattern is formed. Each of the four sides of the grating 142 is connected to a corresponding waveguide of the ridge waveguides 112a-d. In the coupling region 140, the waveguides 112a and 112b are on the same straight line and are orthogonal to the waveguides 112c and 112d that are also on the same straight line. A grating that can be used as the grating 142 is disclosed, for example, in US Pat. No. 7,065,272, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

  In the detector 100, the grating 142 includes one for each of (1) the function of the optical fiber coupler, (2) the function of the polarization splitter, and (3) the two orthogonal polarizations of the optical input signal. Provide at least three different functions, such as the function of two power splitters. More specifically, when the grating 142 physically abuts a single mode optical fiber that is oriented, for example, in a direction orthogonal to the top surface of the grating (ie, perpendicular to the plane of FIGS. 1A-B), Is coupled to the waveguides 112a-d from the optical fiber with relatively low loss, so this is the optical fiber coupler function of the grating 142. When the light in the optical fiber has two polarization components such as an X polarization component and a Y polarization component, the X polarization component is coupled to the waveguides 112a to 112b, and the Y polarization component is coupled to the waveguides 112c to 112c. d is therefore coupled to the polarization splitter function of the grating 142. The combined optical power of the X polarization is divided approximately evenly between the waveguides 112a-b, so this is the power splitter function of the grating 142 for the X polarization. Similarly, the combined optical power of the Y polarization is divided approximately evenly between the waveguides 112c-d, so this is the power splitter function of the grating 142 for the Y polarization. Note that when an optical input signal has a single carrier wavelength, all three of the functions described above apply to signal components having that carrier wavelength. When the optical input signal has multiple carrier wavelengths, each of the signal components corresponding to different carrier wavelengths undergo each of the three functions described above.

  The optical fiber coupling efficiency of the grating 142 can be optimized for any selected wavelength or range of wavelengths by using a corresponding suitable pattern of cavities or holes 144. For example, US Pat. No. 7,065,272, cited above, discloses a pattern that can be used to efficiently couple light having a wavelength between about 1500 nm and about 1600 nm. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosed pattern can be modified to obtain a grating suitable for efficient coupling of other wavelengths, for example, by appropriately changing the periodicity of the cavities or holes in the grating. .

  In an exemplary embodiment of the stereo circuit 110, the X polarization from the abutting optical fiber is efficiently coupled to each of the waveguides 112a-b as a corresponding transverse electric field (TE) waveguide mode, and the waveguide 112a. Propagate along each of ~ b. The X polarization couples relatively inefficiently to the waveguides 112c-d, but this coupling is completely negligible in practice. Similarly, the Y polarization from the abutting optical fiber is (i) efficiently coupled to each of the waveguides 112c-d as a corresponding TE waveguide mode, and (ii) coupling to the waveguides 112a-b is Can be ignored.

Referring to FIG. 1A, for each of the X and Y polarizations of the optical communication signal applied to the grating 142, the two detectors 100 achieve DPSK demodulation by comparing the phase of successive bits. For example, the grating 142 separates the X polarization of the input DPSK signal into two beams, which are coupled to the waveguides 112a-b, respectively, which in turn couple the beams to the 2x2 optical coupler 120a. Lead to. The waveguides 112a-b have an optical path difference that causes a time delay corresponding to the optical symbol period (bit length) of the DPSK signal when the two beams reach the input side of the optical coupler 120a. The optical coupler 120a recombines the received beam coherently and generates two optical interference signals corresponding to adjacent optical bits of the DPSK signal. The two interference signals are respectively applied to photodetectors 130a-b that are coupled to the output side of optical coupler 120a. Photodetectors 130a-b convert each of the interference signals into a corresponding intensity modulated electrical signal. In one embodiment, the photodetectors 130a-b are electrically connected to implement a balanced detection scheme, as is known in the art. The Y polarization of the input DPSK signal is processed in the detector 100 in the same manner as the X polarization, but is processed in the detector portion having the waveguides 112c to d, the 2 × 2 optical coupler 120b, and the photodetectors 130c to 130d. Is done.
When detector 100 receives a PDM optical communication signal, the electrical signal generated by photodetectors 130a-b is handled to correspond to one of the PDM data streams and is generated by photodetectors 130c-d. The processed electrical signal is handled to correspond to another one of the PDM data streams. When detector 100 receives a non-PDM signal, the electrical signals generated by photodetectors 130a-b and 130c-d can be added together and respond in a manner that is substantially independent of the state of polarization of the optical communication signal. it can.

  The waveguides 112a and 112c intersect to form a waveguide intersection 114. The angle between waveguides 112a and 112c at waveguide intersection 114 is typically between about 80 and about 100 degrees. In one embodiment, to reduce signal leakage between the waveguides 112a and 112c, the waveguide intersection 114 is, for example, US Pat. No. 7,058, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 259, which includes one or more multimode interference (MMI) lenses.

  The optical communication link between the remote transmitter and detector 100 imposes a totally uncontrolled polarization rotation on the DPSK signal before the DPSK signal is applied to the waveguide grating 142. However, as is known in the art, it fully compensates for its polarization rotation and allows a receiver with detector 100 to fully recover two independent PDM data streams carried by the DPSK signal. Thus, digital signal processing (DSP) technology can be used to process the electrical signals generated by the photodetectors 130a-d. Exemplary DSP techniques that can be adapted to achieve the required polarization rotation compensation are, for example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0152362, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. No. 2008/0152363.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of a different photodetector 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. For example, the detector 200 can be used for optical differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK) demodulation of PDM communication signals or polarization-insensitive demodulation of non-PDM communication signals. As is known in the art, DQPSK modulation uses transitions between four points that are equidistant on a circle centered on the origin on the signal space diagram. With four different phase increments (ie, 0, 90, 180, and -90 degrees) corresponding to various possible transitions, DQPSK encodes 2 bits per transition.

  Similar to the detector 100, the detector 200 uses a solid circuit 110. However, in detector 200, detector 200 differs from detector 100 in that solid circuit 110 is optically coupled to two 2x4 optical couplers 220a-b rather than 2x2 optical couplers 120a-b. The four output ports of each optical coupler 220 are coupled to four corresponding photodetectors 230. The use of a 2 × 4 optical coupler that acts as an optical 90 degree combination in the demodulation of a DQPSK signal is disclosed, for example, in US Pat. No. 7,343,104, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. . Briefly, the two input signals to the 2x4 optical coupler interfere in it so that the output port (s) in which the interference signal appears depends on the phase difference between the input signals. As a result, the signal generated by the four photodetectors 230 coupled to the 2 × 4 optical coupler 220 uniquely identifies the phase increment between two consecutive optical DQPSK symbols, ie, the corresponding two bits encoded thereby. Can be used to determine.

  In the detector 200, the three-dimensional circuit 110 performs polarization separation as described above with reference to FIG. The optical coupler 220a and the four photodetectors 230 coupled thereto demodulate the X polarization of the DQPSK communication signal applied to the grating 140. Similarly, the optical coupler 220b and the four photodetectors 230 coupled thereto demodulate the Y-polarized wave of the DQPSK communication signal.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic top view of a coherent photodetector 300 according to yet another embodiment of the invention. The detector 300 can be used, for example, for optical quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or QAM reception of PDM communication signals. As is known in the art, QPSK modulation uses four points on a signal space diagram that are equally placed on a circle centered at the origin. QAM modulation uses two carriers that are about 90 degrees out of phase with each other. These waves are usually referred to as in-phase and quadrature components of the QAM signal. QPSK modulation can be viewed as a special case of QAM modulation and is often referred to as 4-QAM. The number of bits encoded by the QAM symbol depends on the signal space size and can be two, three, or more bits per optical symbol.

  The detector 300 includes a three-dimensional circuit 310 that optically couples to eight photodetectors 330 via four 2 × 2 optical couplers 320a to 320d. Optical coupler 320 and optical detector 330 of detector 300 are similar to optical coupler 120 and optical detector 130 of detector 100 (see FIG. 1), respectively. Unlike the stereo circuit 110, the stereo circuit 310 has two coupling regions 340a-b each having a waveguide grating 342 similar to the waveguide grating 142 (see FIG. 1B). Each waveguide grating 342 is connected to four corresponding waveguides 312. FIG. 3 is drawn to scale, and it should be noted that in each grating 342, the corresponding waveguides 312 are arranged orthogonally / collinearly as shown, for example, in FIG. 1B.

  All the waveguides 312 have the same path length between the corresponding waveguide grating 342 and the input side of the corresponding optical coupler 320. Each of the waveguides 312d-e has a corresponding one of the phase shifters 316a-b. In one embodiment, each phase shifter 316 includes an electrode that is stacked on the core of the corresponding waveguide 312. When the electrode is biased, the electric field generated by the bias induces a corresponding change in the refractive index of the waveguide core material, which changes the phase shift of the lightwave traveling along the waveguide. . The electrical leads connected to the photodetector 330 and the phase shifter 316 are omitted in FIG. 3 for better visibility. The solid circuit 310 has two waveguide intersections 314, each similar to the waveguide intersection 114 of the solid circuit 110 (see FIG. 1).

  In operation, coupling regions 340a-b are used to couple received (eg, QAM) optical communication signals and local oscillator (LO) signals to detector 300, respectively. In a typical coupling configuration, the optical fiber carrying the optical communication signal abuts the waveguide grating 342a in the coupling region 340a. Another optical fiber carrying the LO signal similarly abuts the waveguide grating 342b in the coupling region 340b. Both optical fibers face perpendicular to the plane of the three-dimensional circuit 310 (that is, perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3).

  In the exemplary configuration of detector 300, the polarization of the LO signal is chosen so that the electric field vector is parallel to the diagonal of waveguide grating 342b. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this state of polarization couples approximately equal LO power to each of the waveguides 312b, d, e, g. Each of the phase shifters 316a-b applies a 90 degree phase shift to the LO signal that is biased and directed from the waveguide grating 342b to a corresponding one of the optical couplers 320b and 320c. One purpose with the phase shifter 316b is that the relative phase shift between the two interferometer arms with the waveguides 312a-b is either the relative phase shift between the two interferometer arms with 312e-f plus or minus. To make sure it is equal to 90 degrees. Similarly, one purpose of the phase shifter 316a is that the relative phase shift between the two interferometer arms having the waveguides 312c-d is equal to the relative phase shift between the two interferometer arms having the waveguides 312g-h. To make sure that it is equal to the plus or minus 90 degrees. In one embodiment, phase shifter 316a can be moved from waveguide 312d to waveguides 312c, 312g, or 312h. A similar rearrangement is possible with the phase shifter 316b. More generally, various embodiments of detector 100 can have two phase shifters that are variously arranged as long as those phase shifters relate to interferometers that process different polarizations. .

  In one embodiment, the eight photodetectors 330 in the detector 300 are, for example, previously cited US patent application Ser. Nos. 12 / 229,983 and 12 / 338,492, and US Patent Application Publication No. 2008. Are electrically connected to form four balanced photodetector pairs, as disclosed in / 0152362 and 2008/0152363. More specifically, each balanced photodetector pair has two photodetectors 330 that couple to the same optical coupler 320. The balanced photodetector pair coupled to the optical coupler 320a is light generated by interference between the X polarization component of the optical communication signal applied to the grating 342a and the X polarization component of the LO signal applied to the grating 342b. Detect the signal. The balanced photodetector pair coupled to the optical coupler 320b includes a Y polarization component of the optical communication signal applied to the grating 342a, and a Y polarization component obtained by phase shifting the 90 degree phase of the LO signal applied to the grating 342b. An optical signal generated by the interference is detected. The balanced photodetector pair coupled to the optical coupler 320c includes an X polarization component of the optical communication signal applied to the grating 342a, and an X polarization component obtained by shifting the LO signal applied to the grating 342b by 90 degrees. An optical signal generated by the interference is detected. The balanced photodetector pair coupled to the optical coupler 320d is light generated by interference between the Y polarization component of the optical communication signal applied to the grating 342a and the Y polarization component of the LO signal applied to the grating 342b. Detect the signal. As a result, these four balanced optical detector pairs of the detector 300 have (i) an in-phase component IX of the X polarization, (ii) an orthogonal phase component QY of the Y polarization, of the optical communication signal applied to the grating 342a, (Iii) Measure the quadrature component QX of the X polarization and (iv) the in-phase component IY of the Y polarization.

The present invention can be implemented in other specific apparatus and / or methods. The embodiments described above are to be considered merely illustrative in all respects and not limiting.
In particular, the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the description and figures herein. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. For example, although the various coherent photodetectors of the present invention have been described in connection with a PDM signal, some principles of the present invention can be applied to the demodulation of non-PDM signals. Various coherent photodetectors can be implemented as corresponding monolithic PICs, including implementation as a substantially planar receiver card or circuit. In one embodiment, the three-dimensional circuit of the present invention can be implemented using a silicon waveguide. While embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to ridge waveguides, other types of waveguides can also be used. Coherent photodetector photodetection to fully compensate for polarization rotation in the fiber link and allow the optical receiver to fully recover two independent PDM data streams carried by the received optical communication signal Known DSP techniques can be used to process the electrical signal generated by the instrument.

  The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that although not specifically described or shown herein, the principles of the invention may be embodied and various configurations may be devised which fall within the spirit and scope thereof. In addition, all examples listed herein are primarily for educational purposes to help readers understand the principles of the present invention and the concepts we have contributed to promoting the art. It is obvious that it is intended to be solely and should not be construed as being limited to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Further, all the descriptions of the principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present invention and specific examples thereof, as recited herein, are intended to include equivalents thereof.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any block diagram herein shows a conceptual diagram of an exemplary circuit embodying the principles of the present invention. Similarly, any flow chart, flow diagram, state transition diagram, pseudocode, etc. can be substantially presented in a computer-readable medium, whether or not a computer or processor is explicitly shown. Or, it should be understood to illustrate various processes that can be performed by a processor.

  Unless expressly stated otherwise, each numerical value and range should be interpreted as an approximation as if the term “about” or “approximately” preceded the value or range value.

  Furthermore, various changes in the details, materials and construction of the parts described and illustrated to illustrate the nature of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. It should be understood that this can be done by one skilled in the art.

  The components of the following method claims, if any, are listed in a specific order, if any, with the corresponding indications, but the enumeration of the claims separately implies a specific order in which some or all of those components are performed. If not, it is not necessarily intended that the components be implemented in that particular order.

  References herein to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" include that a particular function, structure, or feature described in connection with that embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Means. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, and are not necessarily separate or alternative to each other. It is not a form. The same applies to the term “implementation”.

  Throughout the detailed description, the drawings, which are not to scale, are not intended to limit the invention, but are merely exemplary and are used to illustrate the invention. The use of terms such as height, length, width, top, bottom, etc., is strictly for ease of description of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to a particular direction. For example, the height does not suggest limiting to only vertically above, and is used to identify one of the three dimensions of the three-dimensional structure shown in the figure. Such “height” may be vertical when the electrode is horizontal, horizontal when the electrode is vertical, and so on. Similarly, all figures show layers that are different from the horizontal layer, but such orientation is for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

Further, for the purposes of this description, the terms “coupled”, “coupled”, “coupled”, “connect”, “connected”, or “connected” Any manner known in the art or later developed, in which energy can be transferred between the components and the intervention of one or more additional components is not essential but contemplated Say.
Conversely, the terms “directly coupled”, “directly connected”, etc., suggest that such additional components are not present.

Claims (19)

A first waveguide grating;
A first plurality of waveguides connected to the first waveguide grating;
A first optical coupler;
Including
The first plurality of waveguides include a first waveguide and a second waveguide that is collinear with the first waveguide at the first waveguide grating;
The first waveguide grating separates the optical power of the first polarization of the first optical signal applied to the first waveguide grating, and the first polarization of the first optical signal is separated. Configured to couple the optical power of a wave to the first and second waveguides;
The first and second waveguides are connected to a first side of the first optical coupler;
The first waveguide has a first length between the first waveguide grating and the first optical coupler;
The second waveguide has a second length between the first waveguide grating and the first optical coupler, and the second length is different from the first length. apparatus.   When the first optical signal includes a component having a first carrier wavelength, the first waveguide grating separates the optical power of the first polarization of the component, and the first of the component The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to couple the optical power of a plurality of polarizations to the first and second waveguides. The first plurality of waveguides further includes a third waveguide orthogonal to the first and second waveguides in the first waveguide grating,
The first waveguide grating is further configured to couple the optical power of the second polarization of the first optical signal to a third waveguide, wherein the second polarization is the first polarization. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is orthogonal to the polarization of The first plurality of waveguides further includes a fourth waveguide that is collinear with the third waveguide at the first waveguide grating;
The first waveguide grating separates the optical power of the second polarization of the first optical signal and converts the optical power of the second polarization of the first optical signal to the first optical signal. The apparatus of claim 3, further configured to couple to the third and fourth waveguides. A second optical coupler;
The third and fourth waveguides are connected to a first side of the second optical coupler;
The third waveguide has the first length between the first waveguide grating and the second optical coupler;
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the fourth waveguide has the second length between the first waveguide grating and the second optical coupler. The first optical signal is characterized by an optical symbol period;
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the difference in optical signal propagation time through the first and second length waveguides is approximately the optical symbol period.   6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of photodetectors coupled to a second side of the first optical coupler and a second side of the second optical coupler.   When the first optical signal is a polarization-division multiplexed (PDM) differential phase shift keying (DPSK) signal, the photodetector generates an electrical signal indicative of data carried by the PDM DPSK signal The apparatus of claim 7, configured to:   When the first optical signal is a polarization-division multiplexing (PDM) differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK) signal, the photodetector detects an electrical signal indicating data carried by the PDM DQPSK signal. The apparatus of claim 7, configured to generate. The first optical signal is characterized by an optical symbol period;
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the difference in optical signal propagation time through the first and second length waveguides is approximately the symbol period.   And further comprising two photodetectors coupled to a second side of the optical coupler, wherein the first photodetector is a differential phase shift keying (DPSK) signal, the two photodetectors are The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to generate an electrical signal indicative of data carried by the DPSK signal.   And further comprising four photodetectors coupled to the second side of the optical coupler, wherein the first photodetector is a differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK) signal. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to generate an electrical signal indicative of data carried by the DQPSK signal. The first grating includes a ridge waveguide having a plurality of cavities or holes on the surface forming a periodic two-dimensional pattern;
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to apply the first optical signal to the surface.   The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first waveguide grating and the first plurality of waveguides are implemented in a monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuit. A first waveguide grating;
A first plurality of waveguides connected to the first waveguide grating;
A second waveguide grating;
A second plurality of waveguides connected to the second waveguide grating;
Including
The first plurality of waveguides include a first waveguide and a second waveguide that is collinear with the first waveguide at the first waveguide grating;
The first waveguide grating separates the optical power of the first polarization of the first optical signal applied to the first waveguide grating, and the first polarization of the first optical signal is separated. Configured to couple the optical power of a wave to the first and second waveguides of the first plurality of waveguides;
The second plurality of waveguides includes a first waveguide and a second waveguide that is collinear with the first waveguide at the second waveguide grating;
The second waveguide grating separates the optical power of the first polarization of the second optical signal applied to the second waveguide grating, and the first polarization of the second optical signal is separated. An apparatus configured to couple the optical power of a wave to the first and second waveguides of the second plurality of waveguides. The first plurality of waveguides are third waveguides that are the first waveguide gratings, perpendicular to the first and second waveguides of the first plurality of waveguides, and collinear with each other. Including a waveguide and a fourth waveguide;
The second plurality of waveguides are third waveguides which are the second waveguide gratings and are orthogonal to the first and second waveguides of the second plurality of waveguides and are collinear with each other. Including a waveguide and a fourth waveguide;
The first waveguide grating separates the optical power of the second polarization of the first optical signal and converts the optical power of the second polarization of the first optical signal to the first optical signal. Further configured to couple to the third and fourth waveguides of a plurality of waveguides;
The second waveguide grating separates the optical power of the second polarization of the second optical signal and converts the optical power of the second polarization of the second optical signal to the second optical signal. The apparatus of claim 15, further configured to couple to the third and fourth waveguides of a plurality of waveguides. Further including first, second, third, and fourth optical couplers;
The first waveguide of the first plurality of waveguides and the first waveguide of the second plurality of waveguides are connected to a first side of the first optical coupler;
The second waveguide of the first plurality of waveguides and the second waveguide of the second plurality of waveguides are connected to a first side of the second optical coupler;
The third waveguide of the first plurality of waveguides and the third waveguide of the second plurality of waveguides are connected to a first side of the third optical coupler;
The fourth waveguide of the first plurality of waveguides and the fourth waveguide of the second plurality of waveguides are connected to a first side of the fourth optical coupler. Item 17. The device according to Item 16.   The first, second, third, and fourth waveguides of the first and second plurality of waveguides are respectively equal in length between the corresponding waveguide grating and the corresponding optical coupler. The apparatus of claim 17, comprising: The second waveguide of the second plurality of waveguides includes a first phase shifter;
The third waveguide of the second plurality of waveguides includes a second phase shifter;
The apparatus further includes a plurality of photodetectors coupled to a second side of the first, second, third, and fourth optical couplers;
The first optical signal is a polarization division multiplexed (PDM) quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signal;
The second optical signal is a local oscillator signal;
And when each of the first and second phase shifters sets the corresponding phase difference to about 90 degrees,
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the photodetector is configured to generate an electrical signal indicative of data carried by the PDM QAM signal.

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