Improved Performance of a Wavelength-Tunable Arrayed Waveguide Grating in Silicon on Insulator^*

Abstract

The improved performance of a wavelength-tunable arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) is demonstrated, including the crosstalk, insertion loss and the wavelength tuning efficiency. A reduced impact of the fabrication process on the AWG is achieved by the design of bi-level tapers. The wavelength tuning of the AWG is achieved according to the thermo-optic effect of silicon, and uniform heating of the silicon waveguide layer is achieved by optimizing the heater design. The fabricated AWG shows a minimum crosstalk of 16 dB, a maximum insertion loss of 3.91 dB and a wavelength tuning efficiency of 8.92 nm/W, exhibiting a ∼8 dB improvement of crosstalk, ∼2.1 dB improvement of insertion loss and ∼5 nm/W improvement of wavelength tuning efficiency, compared to our previous reported results.

SOI-based 12 × 12 arrayed waveguide grating for fiber Bragg grating interrogation system

“…SOI is a state-of-the-art material for photonic incorporated chip materials in the era of nanotechnology. Compared with the current material frameworks, such as indium phosphide (InP) [16], SiO 2 [17,18], and polymers [19] which can be utilized to manufacture AWG, the SOI-based platform enables low power consumption, small size, and high computing speed AWG [20][21][22][23]. Its fabrication process is compatible with the complementary metal oxide semiconductor, which can simplify the process and lessen the expense.…”