MEMS widely tunable lasers for WDM system applications

Tunable lasers have wide applications in DWDM systems to save inventory cost and to improve the optical network functionalities. The Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology has shown strong promise to miniaturize the conventional mechanical tunable lasers with adding merits of high compactness, high speed, batch production and so on. In this paper, external cavity tunable diode lasers using MEMS movable mirrors and rotary gratings as the external reflectors are presented. One tunable laser of 2 mm x 1.5 mm is formed by integration of a surface-micromachined 3D mirror with a diode laser and an optical fiber. A wavelength tuning range of 16 nm is obtained. In addition, deep-etched structures such rotary gratings, circular mirror, microlens, and grooves for diode laser and fiber are illustrated to form widely tunable lasers.