Abstract

Broadband tunable Fabry-Perot etalons have been widely used in wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems as wavelength demultiplexers. Various approaches have been proposed to enhance the integrability of Fabry-Perot étalons. Micromachining has shown great potential for tunable filters. However, most of the microfabricated Fabry-Perot filters reported to date are in-plane structures with surface-normal optical access, which limits their integrability with other micro-optical elements. On the other hand, surface micromachining offers a new approach to implement three-dimensional free-space micro-optics monolithically. Previously, we have proposed a “FreeSpace Micro-Optical Bench (FS-MOB)” technology for freespace integrated optics and optoelectronic packaging.^1,2 In this paper, we report on the first fabrication of novel three-dimensional tunable solid Fabry-Perot etalons monolithically integrated with rotational stages using the FS-MOB technology. Very broad tuning range (58.5 run) is achieved by rotating the etalon.

© 1996 Optical Society of America