WIDELY TUNABLE 1.5-MU-M MICROMECHANICAL OPTICAL FILTER USING ALOX ALGAAS DBR/

The authors demonstrate, for the first time, a wavelength tunable opti cal filter at 1.55 mu m using micromechanical tuning of a Fabry-Perot resonator with an AlOx/AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR). The use of thermally oxidised AlAs layers, resulting an ultrawide bandwidt h, dramatically increased the tuning range and efficiency of the reson ator. Very efficient continuous tuning of > 50nm with only a 0.95V tun ing voltage was achieved. The tuning range, limited by our test laser, is expected to be expandable to hundreds of nm.