A low-power MEMS tunable photonic ring resonator for reconfigurable optical networks

We experimentally demonstrate a low-power MEMS tunable photonic ring resonator with 10 selectable channels for wavelength selection in reconfigurable optical networks operating in the C band. The tuning is achieved by changing the geometry of the slot of a silicon slot-waveguide ring resonator, by means of vertical electrostatic parallel-plate actuation. Our device provides static power dissipation below 0.1 μW, a wavelength tuning range of 1 nm, and a narrow bandwidth of 0.1 nm, i.e. 10 nW static power dissipation per selectable channel for TE mode tuning.