Tunable microcavity based on III-V semiconductor micro-opto-electromechanical structures (MOEMS) with strong optical confinement

Abstract
The key performances of optical filters requested by optical communications for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems are: (i) a high wavelength selectivity, enabling the selection of neighboring channels 1.6 nm apart with a crosstalk ratio of 20 dB, (ii) a continuous wavelength tuning range of about 30 nm around 1.55 /spl mu/m, with no degradation of the selectivity. We demonstrate the design and the fabrication of a vertical micromachined InP-air gap based Fabry-Perot filter, continuously tunable via electrostatic micromechanical actuation of the cavity air gap, which meets the WDM system requirements.