Imperfect antireflection coating effect reduction schemes for birefringent interleaver and optical communication systems

Chromatic dispersion (CD) caused by an imperfect antireflection coating is a great concern for optical engineers, and different techniques have been proposed to reduce CD in optical devices. In this article, we investigate two popular CD reduction techniques used in birefringent interleaver manufacturing and their effects on performance improvement of optical communication systems. Our results show that some CD reduction scheme bringing about a smaller CD ripple amplitude does not necessarily guarantee better system performance. This result can be used as a guideline for optical engineers working on reducing CD caused by an imperfect antireflection coating.