Thermo-Optic Tunable Optical Filter Based on Fabry-Perot Microcavities in SOI

Abstract

An integrated TOF (Tunable Optical Filter) based on thermo-optic effect in Silicon on insulator (SOI) rib waveguide is designed and simulated. The device is comprised of two high refractivity contrast Si/Air stacks, functioning as high reflectivity of DBRs and separated by a variable refractive index Si F-P cavity. The output characteristics are calculated and simulated based on Transfer Matrix Method (TMM). Wavelength tuning is achieved through thermal modulation of refractive variation of the cavity.As the cavity Si is heated,the refractive index of the cavity increases.When the temperature of cavity Si changes within100°C，the central wavelength gets a continuous 8nm shift from 1550nm to 1558nm, which is right located in the WDM (Wavelength division multiplexing) networks operating at C-band. Moreover, by calculating, the tuning sensitivity is about 0.08nm/°C. Owing to the compact size and excellent characteristics of integration, the proposed component has a promising utilization in spectroscopy and optical communication.