Electrically tunable silicon-based mirrors

Sharon M. Weiss; Philippe M. Fauchet

doi:10.1117/12.463855

27 March 2002 Electrically tunable silicon-based mirrors

Proceedings Volume 4654, Silicon-based and Hybrid Optoelectronics IV; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.463855
Event: Symposium on Integrated Optoelectronic Devices, 2002, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

For optical applications using a silicon platform (e.g. optical interconnects), passive and especially active components made of silicon need to be developed. Unfortunately, the optical properties of silicon are not sensitive to electric fields, which makes active elements difficult to fabricate. In this work, we demonstrate electrically tunable mirrors that consist of a porous silicon microcavity resonator. Liquid crystal molecules are uniformly infiltrated into the porous silicon matrix to allow tuning of the microcavity resonance with an electric field. The applied electric field causes the liquid crystal molecules to change orientation, creating a change in the value of their refractive index and a shift of the resonance wavelength of the microcavity resonator. Simulations show devices could be built that exhibit a resonance with a full width at half maximum value of 2nm. The resonance can be shifted to achieve a change in reflectivity from ~0% to ~100%. Thus, the application of a small ac voltage should lead to a complete modulation of the reflected light.

Citation Download Citation

Sharon M. Weiss and Philippe M. Fauchet "Electrically tunable silicon-based mirrors", Proc. SPIE 4654, Silicon-based and Hybrid Optoelectronics IV, (27 March 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.463855

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available