Patent ID: 7209611

Claim:
A monolithic transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chip comprising: a plurality of N signal generator channels integrated on the chip and formed in a spatial parallel array with each signal generator channel comprising at least one active element for generating a modulated signal; a wavelength selective combiner integrated on the chip that receives the modulated signals from each of said signal generator channels and combines them into a single multiplexed multi-wavelength signal, said combiner comprising an elliptical supergrating having N groups of subgratings, with oven space regions formed at intersections of said subgrating groups, one subgrating group for each N signal, each of said subgrating groups comprising elliptically shaped arcs that have a period. Λ n , and are positioned transversely relative to other subgrating groups to each receive a respective modulated channel signal and reflect the same back to a single common output waveguide; said single common output waveguide integrated on the chip as part of the spatial parallel array, said single common output waveguide interleaved between the signal generator channels.