Integrable wide-free-spectral-range Fabry-Perot optical filters using free-standing LiNbO3 thin films

We demonstrate the use of free-standing thin films of a complex oxide for chip-scale optical filtering. The films are used as low-order etalons with very large free spectral ranges that exceed 6.78 THz (> 50 nm at 1550 nm) and use a small chip area (< 500 microm2) when they are integrated. The films are produced by crystal ion slicing; this process exfoliates a micrometers-thin layer of single-crystal optical material from a bulk parent by means of high-energy-ion implantation. The etalons, which are 10 microm thick with Ag deposited on both surfaces, are integrated into a silica-on-silicon waveguide block.