Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.502, 130-142, 2009
Multiplexer and Variable Optical Attenuator Based on PDLC for Polymer Optical Fiber Networks
In this work, a combination of a multiplexer and a variable optical attenuator in the same device (VMUX) for use in Polymer Optical Fiber is proposed. Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals (PDLC) are polarization independent, have high contrast and gray scale capability. For these reasons, PDLC cells with pixels can be used as switching elements in the device. Characterization of the PDLC has been carried out at two wavelengths. VMUX Complete switching is reached for driving voltages of 20 Vrms, with insertion losses less than 1.6 dB, attenuation larger than 31 dB, rise time less than 2.6 ms and decay time better than 12.4 ms have been obtained.
Keywords:coarse wavelength division multiplexing;multiplexer;polymer dispersed liquid crystals;polymer optical fiber;variable optical attenuator