MEMS discretely tunable lasers

This chapter covers theoretical studies and experimental verifications of discretely tunable external cavity lasers using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. This chapter and the next two will each focus on a particular type of MEMS laser. The discretely tunable laser is considered first because of its relatively simple configuration. In this chapter, MEMS discretely tunable lasers will be first reviewed in Section 6.1. Then micro-optical-coupling systems will be discussed in Section 6.2, which enable a full range of cavity length, from extremely short (<10 μm), very short (<100 μm), and short (<1 mm) to long, without the need for conventional bulky optical components (lenses, reflectors, etc.). In Sections 6.3 and 6.4, respectively, theoretical studies of continuous and discrete tuning behaviors will be elaborated. This is to provide theoretical guidance for the design of discrete-tuning-dominant lasers and an interpretation of the observed phenomena. Next, an experimental demonstration and characterization of an MEMS discretely tunable laser will be presented in Section 6.5. In Section 6.6, some guidelines will be given for the choice of cavity length and integration approaches.