SBIR/STTR Phase I: Development of a Hybrid MEMS-Driven Tunable Optical Filter Technology

This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I objective of this project is to develop an integrated wafer-scale, high-speed tunable filter technology for high-bit-rate fiber optic networks. Specifically, the feasibility of developing a wafer-scale array of innovative Fabry-Perot tunable filters for use in either the transmitter or the receiver of a communications system is explored. The operating voltage of the filters is designed to be in the range of 0 - 40 volts, the scanning times are less than 0.1 milliseconds and the filtering wavelength region between 2.5 and 5 m. In Phase I, the innovative tunable filter will first be prototyped in a small array (88 pixels), and in Phase II it will be scaled to a 3232 module that will be driven by an active matrix high voltage VLSI chip. In the Phase II work these filter arrays will be integrated directly onto the surface of VCSEL arrays and detector arrays (to be supplied by one of our corporate partners) to form a pre-aligned rugged and compact package. This novel MEMS-based tunable filter array will find applications in fiber-optic telecommunication systems, and in low-cost, high-performance remote sensing instruments and spectrometers