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 µm. 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.