Events Calendar

Photonics Seminar (Student Talk)

Large tuning of birefringence in two strip silicon waveguidesvia optomechanical motion Jing Ma An optomechanical method is presented to tune phase birefringence in parallel silicon strip waveguides. We first calculate the deformation of suspended, parallel strip waveguides due to optical forces. We optimize the frequency and polarization of the pump light to obtain a 9nm deformation for an optical power of 20mW. Widely tunable phase birefringence can be achieved by varying the pump power, with maximum values of 0.026. The giant phase birefringence allows linear to circular polarization conversion within 30µm for a pump power of 67mW. In-Plane Thermally Tuned Silicon-on-Insulator Wavelength Selective ReflectorLawrence StewartThe transparency of silicon at communications wavelengths makes it an ideal choice for low loss optical devices; however, silicon suffers from few and comparatively weak tuning methods. Free carrier injection or depletion are widely used and are suitable for high speed modulators, but these devices are ultimately limited by free carrier induced absorption effects. While a much slower process, thermal tuning allows for large refractive index changes with minimal changes in optical absorption. A thermally tunable silicon-on-insulator wavelength selective reflector is proposed for an application as a mirror in an integrated tunable laser. Simulations and recent experimental results of thermally tuned microring devices will be presented.

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Jing Ma