Polarization-insensitive, wideband synchro-scan rotating optical disk filter for fast wavelength discrimination

Summary form only given. Broadband photonic networks based on WDM supported by wideband amplifiers are important to provide flexible multimedia services. One of the key devices for them is an optical filter with various functions including wavelength discrimination for monitoring the multiplexed channels. Although many filters, e.g., acousto-optic filters and electrically tuned Fabry-Perot etalons, have been presented, they cannot simultaneously satisfy all the practical requirements such as polarization insensitivity, wide tunability, and quick, high stability operation due to their individual drawbacks. The rotary motion of a disk promises high-speed performance as demonstrated in hard-disk system. Here, we present and demonstrate a novel fast-filtering scheme using a synchro-scan rotating tunable disk filter with a circularly wedged interference layer, which has the merits of interference filters. The wavelength discrimination performance of this scheme was tested.