Efficient broadband intracore grating LP01-LP02 mode converters for chromatic-dispersion compensation

LP01-LP02 mode converters based on UV-written intracore gratings have been fabricated for chromatic-dispersion compensation. The mode converters operate in transmission at wavelengths near 1550 nm with spectral bandwidths of 14-25 nm and coupling efficiencies of as much as 90%. A large negative dispersion of -335 ps/(nm km) is obtained for a compensator consisting of the mode converter and a 1490-m-long few-mode fiber. The compensator shows negative dispersion over a wavelength region of 5 nm. Its figure of merit is estimated to be 370 ps/(nm dB). (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.