Multifunctional Tunable Optical Filter Using MEMS Spatial Light Modulator

Author

Jeong, Jae-Woong ; Jung, Il Woong ; Jung, Hee Joon ; Baney, Douglas M. ; Solgaard, Olav

Author_Institution

Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA, USA

Volume

19

Issue

3

fYear

2010

fDate

6/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

610

Lastpage

618

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce a multifunctional tunable microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) optical bandpass filter that can continuously and independently tune the center wavelength and the passband spectral width. The filter function is achieved by dispersing the input light on a MEMS spatial light modulator (SLM) that is implemented with gold-coated mirrors microassembled on a MEMS platform. The mirrors are actuated by electrostatic combdrives that are bidirectional and have a maximum stable displacement of 44 ??m in both directions for a total range of 88 ??m. By actuating the SLM, the 1-dB bandwidth of the filter can be continuously tuned from 0.1 to 1.3 nm, and the 3-dB bandwidth can be tuned from 0.3 to 1.5 nm. In addition, the center wavelength can be fine tuned by actuating the movable blocking mirrors and coarsely tuned over a large spectral range by rotating the grating.

Keywords

band-pass filters; diffraction gratings; gold; integrated optics; micro-optomechanical devices; mirrors; optical films; optical filters; optical tuning; spatial light modulators; Au; MEMS spatial light modulator; center wavelength; grating; microassembled gold-coated mirrors; microelectromechanical systems; multifunctional tunable optical bandpass filter; passband spectral width; stable displacement; wavelength 0.1 nm to 1.3 nm; wavelength 0.3 nm to 1.5 nm; Microassembly; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) platform; micromirror; optical bandpass filter; optical communication; tunable filter;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JMEMS.2010.2043641

Filename

5446333