We present photonic devices based on a nematic liquid crystals (NLC) infiltrated in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channels, named LC:PDMS waveguides, for flexible photonic integrated circuits. A simulation study of the NLC ordering and possible defects under an electric field between coplanar gold electrodes has been carried out by a Monte Carlo approach. The minimization of the free energy in the NLC core waveguides computed by means of finite elements allows to derive the refractive index profile, which is implemented in a BPM algorithm to design a large variety of switchable and tuneable photonic devices. In particular we report the design of two photonic devices based on LC:PDMS waveguide technology: a 2x2 optical switch made of a zero-gap electro-optical controlled directional coupler and a multimodal interferometer (MMI) acting as an optical multi/demultiplexer. The electro-optical controlled directional coupler is able to switch light from one waveguide to a second one with an extinction ratio of 16 dB by applying a voltage of just 1.62 V to coplanar gold electrodes deposited on PDMS by electroplating technique. Light remains in the same waveguide with an extinction ratio of about 18 dB with a voltage of 1.76 V. An MMI has been also designed to demultiplex wavelengths at 980 nm and 1550 nm in two output waveguides with an extinction ratio better than 11 dB by applying about 7 V. Main advantage of these devices is the low driving voltage due to the combination of electro-optic effect of the NLC with an optimized design.
In this paper, we present our studies on electrical and thermal tuning of light propagation in waveguide channels, made for the scope from a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate infiltrated with nematic liquid crystal (LC). We demonstrated, via numerical simulations, the changes of the waveguide optical parameters when solicited by temperature changes or electric fields. Moreover, the paper goes through the fabrication process of a waveguide channel sample and its characterization, as well as some preliminary experimental trials of sputtering indium tin oxide (ITO) and chromium layers on PDMS substrate to obtain flat electrodes.
In this paper we show two approaches to fabricate photonic channels on different substrate technology platforms, in particular silicon and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), for flexible photonic integrated circuits. The electro-optic effect and nonlinear optical properties of liquid crystals (LC) allow the realization of low cost and low energy consumption optoelectronic devices operating at both visible and near-infrared wavelengths. High extinction ratio and large tuning range guided wave devices will be presented to be used for both optofluidic and datacom applications, in which both low realization costs and low power consumption are key features. In particular we will show our recent results on polarization independent light propagation in waveguides whose core consists of LC infiltrated in PDMS channels (LC:PDMS waveguides) fully compatible with optofluidic and lab-on-chip microsystems.
Tunable photonic switches and filters employing liquid crystals (LC) or LC-composites can be used in several fields of application such as optical communications, sensors and imaging systems. Their excellent electro-optic, thermo-optic and nonlinear optical responses can be exploited for producing components in guided-wave microstructures operating at low optical and electric powers. This review deals with various integrated optics structures, some of them already experimentally demonstrated for optical processing, including routers, Bragg filters and all-optical switches. A compact (160μm long) two-way router in a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) waveguide was designed and demonstrated operating in the near infrared with voltage modulation as low as 0.21 V. Wavelength-tunable voltage-controlled Bragg reflectors were analyzed in different geometries: one has a reflectivity above 80% in a 14 nm range (1530-1550 nm) with bias voltages from 2.5 to 3.0 V; another one exploits coplanar comb electrodes to achieve an extended tuning range of about 104 nm (1521-1625 nm) with reflection above 50% for voltages from 2.9 to 10.2 V. Tunable gratings made with microslices of polymers and NLC on glass waveguides were also characterized in the 1.55 μm spectral window, demonstrating electro-optic filters adjustable over 4 nm for bias fields of about 3 V/μm. An alloptically tunable filter was also demonstrated in dye-doped NLC with tuning range over 6.6 nm when illuminated with a green laser beam of a few mW.
The amorphous/crystalline silicon technology has demonstrated its potentiality leading to high efficiency solar cells. We propose the use of surface photovoltage technique as a contact-less tool for the evaluation of the energetic distribution of the state density at amorphous/crystalline silicon interface. We investigate the effect hydrogen plasma treatments performed on thin amorphous silicon buffer layer deposited over crystalline silicon surface and we compare its effect with that of thermal annealing on the interface. The surface photovoltage technique results to be very sensitive to the different experimental treatments, and therefore it can be considered a precious tool to monitor and improve the interface electronic quality.
This paper reports two configurations of Bragg reflectors based on liquid crystals confined between two small glass plates. Both approaches employ the efficient electro-optic effect in liquid crystals, which allows tunability of the reflectors by using low voltages. The molecular reorientation induced by an applied electric field implies a refractive index modulation seen by polarized light propagating into the liquid crystal. We show design criteria and profile optimization of the electrodes to induce a liquid crystal refractive index periodic modulation, providing a wavelength selective propagation of confined light in the liquid crystal. The two proposed device configurations differ for the top-bottom electrode configuration in one case and coplanar electrodes in the other case. Modeling of both configurations has been carried by calculating the applied electric field distribution and its interaction with the liquid crystal elastic properties taking into account the boundary conditions due to the alignment layer on the inner faces of the glass substrates. The calculated performance in terms of high wavelength selectivity and ultrawide spectral tuning range indicate that the two designed structures can be proposed for both optical filtering and to produce novel low power integrated distributed feedback resonators in dense wavelength division multiplexed fiber optic systems.
This paper reports on linear and nonlinear optical properties of channel waveguides made of micromachined SiO2/Si Vgrooves
filled with nematic liquid crystal E7. Experiments demonstrate operation of the waveguides in the C-band (1530
- 1565 nm). Molecular reorientation of the NLC, induced either by an applied low frequency electric field or by the
electric field of the light itself, changes the LC refractive index distribution then allowing the control of guided light.
Design criteria and techniques of channel waveguides for both
electro-optical and all-optical switching and modulation
will be discussed. Experiments are presented where it is showed that light at 1550 nm, fiber-coupled to the LC
waveguide is optically modulated by an optical beam with an input power below 25 mW. All-optical switching of a
signal at 1510 nm with a contrast over 10 dB is also demonstrated by using a copropagating control signal at 1560 nm.
A model of the waveguide is also presented able to explain linear and nonlinear experimental results.
We present an integrated optical narrowband electrically tunable filter based on the whispering gallery modes of sapphire
microspheres and double ion-exchanged channel BK7 glass waveguides. Tuning is provided by a liquid crystal infiltrated
between the spheres and the glass substrate. By suitably choosing the radii of the spheres and of the circular apertures,
upon which the spheres are positioned, arrays of different filters can be realized on the same substrate with a low cost
industrial process. We evaluate the performance in terms of quality factor, mode spacing, and tuning range by comparing
the numerical results obtained by the numerical finite element modeling approach and with the analytical approach of the
Generalized Lorenz-Mie Theory for various design parameters. By reorienting the LC in an external electrical field, we
demonstrate the tuning of the spectral response of the sapphire microsphere based filter. We find that the value of the
mode spacing remains nearly unchanged for the different values of the applied electric field. An increase of the applied
electric field strength, changes the refractive index of the liquid crystal, so that for a fixed geometry the mode spacing remains unchanged.
Integrated optic devices using liquid crystals embedded in optical waveguiding structures have advantages in terms of compactness and high performance. Such devices exploits the high electro-optic effect and the good optical properties of liquid crystals, in particular their high birefringence and their low absorption, combined with low loss optical waveguides. Optical switches based on ion-exchanged channel glass waveguides and liquid crystals operating in the C-band used for optical communications have been designed by using beam propagation method. Polarization independent configurations are described and evaluated in terms of crosstalk and losses. Feasibility of tunable optical filters using composites materials made of polymer and nematic liquid crystals to be used in optical communication and sensor systems is demonstrated. Materials and fabrication procedures of both integrated optical switches and filters are also discussed.
A multilayer structure realizing an optical switch with ferroelectric liquid crystal, polymeric buffers and waveguides has been analyzed at the wavelength of 1550 nm, focusing on fabrication and design tolerances. The used liquid crystal FELIX-M4851-025 from Clariant is aligned by Nylon6 and embedded between two polymeric waveguides. ITO is deposited on quartz substrates to apply voltage to the cell and polymeric buffers are employed to reduce ITO absorption losses. The polymers consisted of poly(pentafluorostyrene-co-glycidyl methacrylate). Light is switched between the optical waveguides by reorienting the liquid crystal. Optimization in terms of optical losses and extinction ratios was carried out by varying layer thicknesses, refractive indices of waveguides and buffers, and the angle α between the normal to the smectic layers and the propagation direction. An optimized device with α = 51°, refractive indices of 1.475 and 1.462, thicknesses of 3 and 6 μm for waveguides and buffer, respectively and 4.4 μm for the liquid crystal layer, exhibits an extinction ratio of 59.6 dB with losses as low as 0.8 dB for a length of only 174 μm. A device design using single mode channel waveguides for optical switching matrices has been also carried out.
A tunable waveguide grating router (WGR) design is reported, where a subpicosecond phase shift is obtained by means of the electro-optically induced refractive index change in the arms of an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) made of highly nonlinear poled polymer CLD-75/APC. The polymer consists of a guest-host system, formed by a ring-locked phenyltetraene bridged cromophore dispersed in an amorphous polycarbonate, with coefficient r33=55pm/V and propagation losses of 1.7dB/cm. We propose a multilayer structure on Si substrate, where segments of each waveguide of the AWG are sandwiched between a ground gold electrode and electrodes whose length varies over the AWG. Numerical simulations of a device with electrode length difference of 250μm show a tuning range of 11nm centered at 1550nm by varying the applied voltage from -90V to +90V. From the optimized AWG, a WGR operating with 16 channels spaced by 100GHz has been designed. The WGR is made of single-mode rib waveguides and buffers whose thicknesses are respectively 1.8μm and 1.7μm. A broader tunability range is obtained using the push-pull technique, which induces a refractive index change of opposite sign in two halves of the AWG. A crosstalk of -40dB with tuning range of 22nm over the C-band was figured out.
Performances of a WDM multistage interconnection architecture have been evaluated, by using measurements carried out on a 8×8 MEMS 2-D photonic switch made by OMM Inc.. Maximum and minimum insertion losses resulted 3.96 dB and 1.42 dB respectively at the wavelength of 1540.5nm. Furthermore polarization dependent loss and crosstalk were below 0.7 dB and -79 dB respectively. A rist time of 12 ms and a fall time of 4 ms were measured. The measurements were used to study a 40 Gbit/s WDM network which operates by using two fibers each supporting 8 multiplexed channels for a total of 16 channels whose carriers are spaced by 50 GHz and modulated at 2.5 Gbit/s. The network includes an optical cross connect (OXC), designed to switch part or all of the eight channels from one fiber to the other. The heart of the OXC is a 16×16 strictly non-blocking switching matrix based on a three stage Clos architecture. Insertion losses lower than 7 dB were evaluated over the entire network and the eye diagram spreads by just about 4%.
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