An integrated thin-film thermo-optic waveguide beam deflector

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 76; no. 16; pp. 2289 - 2291
• Main Authors: Tang, Suning, Li, Bulang, Han, Xinghua, Taboada, John M., Jang, Chiou-Hung, Kim, Jin-Ha, Sun, Lin, Chen, Ray T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 17-04-2000
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/1.126323

We have demonstrated the operation of a thin-film thermo-optical beam deflector in a three-layer optical planar waveguide. The fabricated waveguide beam deflector consists of a thin-film SiO2 bottom cladding layer, a thin-film polymer top cladding layer, and alternatively positioned thin-film polymer and silica microprisms as the guiding layer. The beam deflection is achieved through the thermo-optic effect that results in opposed index changes in polymer and silica with respect to temperature changes. The measured deflection sensitivity is 0.06°/°C, for the fabricated device with a 7.0 mm interaction length at the wavelength of 632.8 nm.