16-Band Integrated Dynamic Gain Equalization Filter with Less than 2.8-dB Insertion Loss

We demonstrate a low-loss 16-band dynamic gain equalization filter consisting of two perfectly sampled waveguide grating routers (WGR's) and an array of thermooptic attenuators. This integrated silica waveguide filter has < 2.8 dB fiber-to-fiber loss, < 0.2-dB polarization-dependent loss at minimum attenuation and < 0.7-dB at 10-dB attenuation, and < 5.0 W electrical power consumption over the C-band. We also demonstrate a new technique for reducing the loss of WGR's.