1.55μm Fabry-Perot Thermo-Optical Tunable Filter with Amorphous-Si as Cavity

A 1.55μm Fabry-Perot (F-P) thermo-optical t unable filter is fabricated.The cavity is made of amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer grown by electron-beam evaporation technique.Due to the excellent thermo-optical property of a-Si,the refractive index of the F-P cavity will be changed by heating;the transmittance resonant peak will therefore shift substantially.The measured tuning rang is 12nm, FWHM (full-width-at-half-maximum) of the transmissi on peak is 9nm,and heating efficiency is 0.1K/mW.The large FWHM is mainly due to th e non-ideal coating deposition and mirror undulation.Possible improvements to increase the efficiency of heating are suggested.

1.3μm Si-Based MOEMS Optical Tunable Filter with a Tuning Range of 90nm

Optical filters capable of single control parameter based wide tuning are implemented and studied.A prototype surface micromachined 1 3μm Si based MOEMS (micro opto electro mechanical systems) tunable filter exhibits a continuous and large tuning range of 90nm at 50V tuning voltage.The filter can be integrated with Si based photodetector in a low cost component for coarse wavelength division multiplexing systems operating in the 1 3μm band.

Superconducting tunable filter with constant bandwidth using coplanar waveguide resonators

In this paper we propose a two-pole varactor-tuned superconducting filter using coplanar waveguide （CPW） spiralin-spiral-out （SISO） resonators. Novel internal and external coupling structures are introduced to meet the requirements for a tunable filter with a constant absolute bandwidth. The fabricated device has a frequency tuning range of 14.4% at frequencies ranging from 274.1 MHz to 317.7 MHz, a 3-dB bandwidth of 5.14±0.06 MHz, and an insertion loss of 0.08 dB-0.70 dB. The simulated and measured results are in excellent agreement with each other.

Wavelength modulation spectroscopy at 1530.32 nm for measurements of acetylene based on Fabry–Perot tunable filter

Sensitive detection of acetylene（C_2H_2） is performed by absorption spectroscopy and wavelength modulation spectroscopy（WMS） based on Fiber Fabry–Perot tunable filter（FFP-TF） at 1530.32 nm. After being calibrated by Fiber Bragg Grating（FBG）, FFP-TF is frequency-multiplexed and modulated at 20 Hz and 2.5 kHz respectively to achieve wavelength modulation. The linearity with 0.9907 fitting coefficient is obtained by measuring different concentrations in a 100 ppmv–400 ppmv range. Furthermore, the stability of the system is analyzed by detecting 50 ppmv and 100 ppmv standard gases for 2 h under room temperature and ambient pressure conditions respectively. The precision of 11 ppmv is achieved by calculating the standard deviation. Therefore, the measuring system of C_2H_2 detection can be applied in practical applications.

A NOVEL SWEPT LASER SOURCE BASED ON COMBINED TUNABLE FILTERS FOR OCT

A novel broad tunable bandwidth and narrow instantaneous line-width linear swept laser source using combined tunable filters working at 1,300 nm center wavelength is proposed.The combined filters consist of a fiber Fabry
Perot tunable filter and a tunable filter based on diffractive grating with scanning polygon mirror.In contrast to traditional method using single tunable filter,the trade-off between bandwidth and instantaneous line-width is alleviated.Parallel implementation of two semiconductor optical amplifiers with different wavelength range is adopted in the laser resonator for broadband light amplification.The Fourier domain mode locking swept laser source with combined tunable filters offers broadband tunable range with narrow instantaneous line-width,which is especially benefiting for high-quality optical frequency domain imaging.The proposed Fourier domain mode locking swept laser source provides a tuning range of 160 nm with instantaneous line-width of about 0.01nm at sweeping rate of 15 kHz,a finesse of 16,000 is thus achieved.

Mathematical Description of Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter Orthogonal Polarizing Method

The transfer function of the optical splitting system of the acousto-optic tunable filter （AOTF） is deduced to be a reference to optical design. The characteristic matrix （ transfer function） of AOTF is used to describe quantitatively the characters of polarization elements in the orthogonal polarizing system. According to the characteristic matrix, the included angle of polarizer＇s transmission direction and polarization analyzer＇s transmission direction should be 90°. As a result the signal to noise ratio increased about 20 times though the light intensity was reduced to 54.3%,because both the transmittances of polarizer and polarization analyzer are 0. 74, which is an intrinsic character. The orthogonal polarizing method is an effective method to get rid of the influence of zero order light and improve the spectrum resolution and signal-to-noise ratio.

Optical Bistability in an Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter(AOTF)Operating with Short Optical Pulses

In this paper we report for the first time the presence of bistability in an acoustic-optic tunable filter (AOTF) operating with ultrashort (2 ps) optical light pulses. The results for the study of bistability has shown the dependence of the hysteresis curve with the product of the coupling constant (κ) by the length of the device (ξL) and the conversion power-coupling constant factor (G). The range of bistability varies significantly with both G and with κξL parameters. The variation of κξL directly increases the size of the range of bistability hysteresis while the increase in G causes the bistability to occur at low powers. The phenomenon of optical bistability (OB) is the object of increasing interest due to its possibilities for important device applications. A bistable device is a device with a capability to generate two different outputs for a given input and the physical requirements for this are an intensity-dependence refractive index and an optical feedback mechanism.

Micromechanical Tunable Optical Filter

A micromachined vertical cavity tunable filter with AlGaAs/GaAs distributed Bragg reflector is presented.This filter can be electrostatic tuning over a range of 28nm with an applied voltage of 7V.

Ultracompact bandwidth-tunable filter based on subwavelength grating-assisted contra-directional couplers

An ultracompact,bandwidth-tunable filter has been demonstrated using a silicon-on-insulator(SOI)wafer.The device is based on cascaded grating-assisted contra-directional couplers(GACDCs).It also involves the use of a subwavelength grating(SWG)structure.By heating one of the heaters on GACDCs,a bandwidth tunability of~6 nm is achieved.Owing to the benefit of having a large coupling coefficient between SWG and strip waveguides,the length of the coupling region is only 100 pm.Moreover,the combination of the curved SWG and the tapered strip waveguides effectively suppresses the sidelobes.The filter possesses features of simultaneous wavelength tuning with no free spectral range(FSR)limitation.A maximum bandwidth of 10 nm was experimentally measured with a high out-of-band contrast of 25 dB.Similarly,the minimum bandwidth recorded is 4 nm with an out-of-band contrast of 15 dB.

Optimized guided mode resonant structure as thermooptic sensor and liquid crystal tunable filter

Applicability of guided mode resonant structures to tunable optical filtering and sensing is demonstrated using nematic liquid crystals. As a sensor, a minimum refractive index detectivity of 10^-5 is demonstrated while as a tunable filter, tunability range of few tens of nanometers with 2-nm bandwidth is presented. The optimum design is achieved by maximizing the evanescent field region in the analyte which maximizes the overlap integral. The device can be operated in reflection or transmission modes at normal incidence. It can also be operated at a single wavelength by measuring the angular profile of the light beam.

Coupling Considerations for Fabrication of Acoustooptic Tunable Filter

Induced acoustic wave to bare fiber through various types of horn are examined. The center wavelength and extinction ratio of the notch filter are dynamically tunable and dependent on the RF signals.

A high—speed automatic spectrometer based on a solid—state non—collinear acousto-optic tunable filter

An automatic visible spectrometer based on a non-collinear acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) is constructed for high-speed spectrometry. Its spectral filtering characteristics, such as relationships between the radio-frequency (RF) driving frequency and the output central wavelength, the output bandwidth and the central wavelength, its typical spectral point spread function (PSF), and so on, are studied systematically. The preliminary measurement results of AOTF spectrometer show that it is a solid-state, high-speed, easily controllable by computer-programming, rugged and compact spectroscopic device in comparison with a conventional grating spectrometer, and has the potential for widespread spectrometric applications.

Particle swarm optimization and its application to the design of a compact tunable guided-mode resonant filter

A compact tunable guided-mode resonant filter （GMRF） in the telecommunication region near the 1550 nm wave-length is proposed in this paper. Particle swarm optimization （PSO） is used to design the GMRF. The tunability of the GMRF is achieved by an MEMS-based physical movement （in the horizontal or vertical direction） combined with an incident angle in a certain range. The results show that the resonant wavelength tuning of 110 nm （140mm） is obtained by horizontal movement of 168 nm （vertical movement of 435 nm） combined with an about 11° variation of incident angle.

High Sensitivity FBG Pressure Sensor Based on Mechanical Amplifier and Interrogation Using Tunable FBG Filter

A high sensitivity fiber Bragg grating pressure sensor by using mechanical amplifier is demonstrated. The measured pressure sensitivity is -1.80×10 -4 /MPa, which is about two orders of magnitude better than a simple monomode fiber with an in-fiber grating. The resolution of pressure measurement is 0.015 MPa based on interrogation using tunable fiber grating filter.

Tunable Single-Passband Microwave Photonic Filter Based on Sagnac Loop and Fabry-Perot Laser Diode

A tunable single-passband microwave photonic filter is proposed and demonstrated, based on a laser diode (LD) array with multiple optical carriers and a Fabry-Perot (F-P) laser diode. Multiple optical carriers in conjunction with the F-P LD will realize a filter with multiple passbands. By adjusting the wavelengths of the multiple optical carriers, multiple passbands are merged into a single passband with a broadened bandwidth. By varying the number of the optical carrier, the bandwidth can be adjusted. The central frequency can be tuned by adjusting the wavelength of the multiple optical carriers simultaneously. A single-passband filter implemented by two optical carriers is experimentally demonstrated.

Tunable Optical Filters Based on Different Configurations with Cholesteric Liquid Crystals

Optical filters with different configurations based on cholesteric liquid crystals （CLCs） are designed. The central wavelength from CLCs can be tuned by the electric field or temperature. For the electric field tuning, the ITO is designed with circular patterns, which can make the tunable range 18 nm. For the temperature tuning, two-layer- CLC configurations are used. The experimental results indicate that a deepened or broadened bandgap from the CLC can be achieved by different handedness or concentrations of chiral dopants. The spectrum study is carried out.

A high performance tunable optical filter based on cascaded polarization interference filter

A new kind of tunable optical filter is proposed for DWDM optical communication application. It is based on cascaded polarization interference filter (PIF). The period and bandpass width of each PIF are decided by its optical path difference between o-ray and e-ray (OPDOE). When their OPDOEs are proportionately designed, the tuning range and bandpass width depend on OPDOE in the first and the last PIF, respectively. The tuning range, bandpass width and crosstalk are independent each other. The crosstalk is related to the OPDOE ratios among PIFs and can be suppressed by designing the PIF's OPDOE. A set of OPDOE is suggested that are l1, 2 × l1, 22 ×l1, 23 ×l1, 24 ×l1, ..., 2N-4 × l1, 15 × 2N-7 ×l1, 10 × 2N-6 × l1 and 2N-2 ×l1 from the first to the last. This suggested OPDOEs can yield -50-dB crosstalk for any tuning range and bandpass width. The insert loss is less than 1 dB. As its loose alignment requirement, there is no limitation on cascaded PIF number. When 11 PIFs are cascaded, it can achieve 170-nm tuning range, -50-dB crosstalk, bandpass width applicable to 25-GHz channel spacing and 1 dB insert loss.

Ultranarrow bandwidth tunable atomic filter via quantum interference-induced polarization rotation in Rb vapor

We report the experimental demonstration of an ultranarrow bandwidth atomic filter by optically induced polarization rotation in multilevel electromagnetically induced transparency systems in hot Rb vapor. With a coupling intensity of 2.3 W/cm^2, the filter shows a peak transmission of 33.2% and a bandwidth of 10 MHz. By altering the coupling frequency, a broad tuning range of several Doppler linewidths of the D1 line transitions of STRb atoms can be obtained. The presented atomic filter has useful features of ultranarrow bandwidth, and the operating frequency can be tuned resonance with the atomic transition. Such narrowband tunable atomic filter can be used as an efficient noise rejection tool in classical and quantum optical applications.

9.4 nm Tunable Vertically Coupled Microring Resonator Filter by Thermo-Optic Effect

A wide range (9.4nm) tuning of vertically coupled microring resonator filter was demonstrated utilizing a large TO coefficient of polymer. The power consumption was about 60m W and no degradation of filter response was observed.

Tunable terahertz filter based on alternative liquid crystal layers and metallic slats

We propose and demonstrate a pseudo Fabry–Pérot filter in the terahertz frequency range of 0.1–0.5 THz. It consists of alternative liquid crystal layers and metallic slats. Separate sharp resonant peaks are shown in the simulated transmission spectra, and their positions shift toward higher frequencies when the refractive index of liquid crystal decreases. The measured transmission spectra are consistent with corresponding simulations. Via thermally tuning the refractive index of the filled liquid crystal, the resonant transmission frequencies shift accordingly. The work supplies a novel design for tunable terahertz filters, which would play important roles in terahertz imaging, sensing, high speed communication, and security applications.