Hybrid optical assembly technique for tunable optical filter arrays

Detailed characterization results of a MEMS-based thermally tunable optical filter hybridly assembled with a fiber-based input/output are presented. The assembly technique relied on the alignment of an optical fiber array to the filter array using a novel silicon optical bench approach. This concept is easily scalable to high port counts. Of particular interest were variations of optical performance due to inhomogeneities in the fabrication processes. Typical filter characteristics measured were 1.5 nm for spectral width, 0.5 dBm insertion loss and a filter contrast exceeding 25 dB. Simulations show that refining the optical design using multiple cavity structures will offer an increased sidemode suppression ratio.