Solid-spaced filters: an alternative for narrow-bandpass applications

Solid-spaced filters are composed of one or several thin wafers of excellent optical quality acting as Fabry-Perot spacer layers. We study the different steps of the design and the manufacture of filters following dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing specifications. The design method of such filters requires a tight synergy between numerical simulations and experimental characterizations to correct possible thickness errors. Experimental results of the manufacture and characterization of a three-cavity narrow-bandpass filter and of an interleaver filter are given. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.