Holographic edge-illuminated polymer Bragg gratings for dense wavelength division optical filters at 1550 nm.

We discuss the use of holographic photopolymer materials for use as dense wavelength division multiplexing filters in the C-band of the optical communication spectrum. An edge-illuminated hologram configuration is described that effectively extends the grating length to achieve narrow band filters operating near 1550 nm in photopolymers that are 100-200-microm thick. This configuration enables the formation of apodized and cascaded filter systems.