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Amorphous Silicon as an Active Material in Optical Resonators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Dennis Hohlfeld
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Freiburg, Department of Microsystems Engineering, Georges-Koehler-Allee 102, Freiburg, N/A, 79110, Germany, +49 761 203 7581, +49 761 203 7439
Hans Zappe
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Freiburg, Department of Microsystems Engineering, Georges-Koehler-Allee 102, Freiburg, N/A, 79110, Germany
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Abstract

The application of amorphous silicon as a thermo-optically active material in MEMS-based, tunable optical filters is presented. The thin film interference filter employs a solid-state silicon cavity and silicon-based distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR). Tuning is achieved by varying the the resonator's refractive index and thus its optical thickness through thermal modulation. The filter is configured as a membrane and operates up to a temperature of 450 °C. Such a filter is essential for monitoring and reconfiguration of optical data communication networks and is also applicable for chemical and gas sensing.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

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