Arduino Applied in Temperature Controller Design for Photonic Devices ---Based on Engineering Students’ Creativity Development Program

Abstract

In an optical communication system, providing a stable and constant temperature environment for the optical chip is the key for a less loss communicating performance. In this paper, a new design of temperature controller for photonics is set up based on the combination of the Thermoelectric Coolers (TEC) and Arduino. Through the process of the whole design, as we rely on Arduino to collect the temperature data and make the corresponding response according to the varying temperature. Thus, the design of the coding also plays a significant role in this project. One great merit of using the coding to play a role as a controller and data collector, the characteristic and the function of one specific code do not change when the environment change. It can offer a stable constant temperature environment within ±0.05℃. The temperature controller for photonics offers a reliable temperature stabilizing approach for the optical chip. At last, it also offers a simple as well as useful structure of temperature controller which can be a useful reference to other fields besides the optical communication area.