Monolithic Integration of a Multiplexer/Demultiplexer With a Thermo-Optic VOA Array on an SOI Platform

In this letter, a nine-channel 100-GHz arrayed waveguide grating multiplexer/demultiplexer is monolithically integrated with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer thermo-optic variable optical attenuators (VOAs) arrayed on a silicon-on-insulator platform. The on-chip transmission loss is ~ 6 dB and the crosstalk is less than -25 dB for the transverse-electric mode. The maximum modulation depths of different thermo-optic VOAs are similar, ~ 15 dB with 2.7-V bias. The frequency response of our device is fast (ges 100 kHz) for thermo-optic effect devices. The maximum power consumption of a single VOA is less than 35 mW.