Programmable MZI based on a silicon photonic MEMS-tunable delay line

Area of Science:

• Integrated photonics
• Silicon photonics
• Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

Background:

• Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) are fundamental photonic devices.
• Achieving tunable free spectral range (FSR) and extinction ratio (ER) in MZIs often involves complex or lossy configurations.
• Scalability and low power consumption are critical for advanced photonic integrated circuits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and demonstrate a scalable and programmable integrated MZI.
• To achieve tunable FSR and ER with minimal optical loss.
• To leverage silicon photonic MEMS for dynamic control of interferometric parameters.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel tunable delay line using silicon photonic MEMS.
• Integration of the tunable delay line into an MZI architecture.
• Characterization of the MZI's FSR, ER, and tuning energy.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of an MZI with dynamically tunable FSR and ER.
• The MEMS-based tunable delay line allows geometric length modification without additional optical loss.
• Achieved a low tuning energy of 8.46 pJ for length reconfiguration.
• The proposed device exhibits superior scalability in terms of optical loss compared to cascaded MZI approaches.

Conclusions:

• The developed silicon photonic MEMS-based MZI offers a scalable and efficient solution for tunable photonic integrated circuits.
• This technology enables flexible control over MZI parameters with minimal power consumption and optical loss.
• The approach paves the way for advanced applications in optical signal processing and communications.