Narrow-band tunable wavelength-selective filters of Fabry-Perot interferometers with a liquid crystal intracavity

Optimum designs for tunable wavelength-selective filters of Fabry-Perot interferometers with a liquid crystal intracavity are described. A nematic liquid crystal with index numbers 1.5506 and 1.4771 was used. Methods of aligning liquid crystal molecules were studied. The filters provide high finesse (150-410), high transmittance (20-70%), narrow transmission peak (FWHM: 0.17-0.35 nm), and a large shift (>50 nm) at a wavelength of 1.5 mu m. These filters have a potential to select over 50 channels in WDM.<
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