Home – Home – Jornals – Avtometriya 2006 number 6

Results of numerical modeling a new type of acousto-optic (AO) filters employing multibeam expanders are discussed. A planar filter design in thin m) optical waveguides of chalcogenide glass on lithium niobate is proposed. Analysis of the devices is carried out in a spectral approach with application of numerical experiments by the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method. It is shown that the proposed multi-reflector optical elements possess high dispersion properties such that the AO filter with a small size (below 0.1 cm) ensures a record thin linewidth (~1 nm) at a wavelength of 1.54 m, a tuning range greater than 40 nm, and a switching time of less than 2 s. In addition, the normalized linewidth per unit length of the device is 20 times better than the theoretical limit for available types of AO filters developed on the same substrate and by a common technology but without multibeam expanders.