90° Optical Hybrid

Overview

The Exail 90° optical hybrid (COH) enables coherent detection by interfering a signal with a local oscillator through four 90° phase-stepped interferences, extracting phase, amplitude and polarization information. The assembly is purely passive and athermal, built with ultra-accurate free-space micro-optics using active optical alignment and gluing processes proven in space. Optional phase tunability adapts the 90° step to the wavelength in use; detailed specifications are published in the official Exail COH and COH180 datasheets.

Key features

• Four 90° phase-stepped interferences between signal and local oscillator
• Purely passive and athermal operation
• Single or dual polarization versions, including the COH180 for polarization-diverse heterodyne detection
• Optional phase tunability
• TRL9 maturity, space qualification on demand

Applications

• Quantum communication (CV-QKD)
• Space optical communications (flying model version available)
• Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS)
• QAM demodulation