26th Australian Institute of Physics Congress and the Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics

Active Dual-directional Spectral Alignment in Silicon Arrayed Waveguide Gratings

Not scheduled

20m

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Contributed Oral ANZOS | Photonics and Optics (ANZCOP)

Description

Fabrication-induced wavelength shifts remain a major limitation in silicon photonic wavelength multiplexers, leading to channel misalignment and degraded spectral performance in dense wavelength-division multiplexing systems [2,3]. Here, we demonstrate a fully packaged silicon photonic chip fabricated on the imec iSiPP50G platform, integrating a 12-channel, 50 GHz bidirectional arrayed waveguide grating (BiAWG) with an asymmetric Mach–Zehnder interferometer (AMZI). The proposed architecture enables controlled red- and blue-shift tuning for precise spectral alignment. The fabricated device exhibits an initial wavelength offset of +0.17 nm from the target wavelength of 1527.99 nm, while the proposed tuning mechanism achieves wavelength alignment to 1527.98 with a remaining residual error of only 0.01 nm. Alternatively, by optimizing spectral overlap at 1528.05 nm, transmission is increased by approximately 4 dB. These results demonstrate a compact and reconfigurable approach for post-fabrication wavelength alignment, enabling fabrication-tolerant and scalable silicon photonic systems.
Figure 1. a) Conceptual illustration, b) device layout, and c) simulated transmission spectrum of the integrated AMZI–BiAWG architecture for dual-directional wavelength control and selective odd/even channel routing. (d) Optical micrograph of the fully packaged silicon photonic chip fabricated on the imec iSiPP50G platform. Figures adapted from Vatandoust et al. submitted, under review (2026).

[2] K.-F. Chung et al., “Demonstration of a bi-directionally tunable arrayed waveguide grating with ultra-low thermal power using S-shaped architecture and parallel-circuit configuration,” Optics Express, Vol. 30, Issue 14, pp. 25842-25854, vol. 30, no. 14, pp. 25842–25854, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1364/OE.462636.
[3] P. Y. Pei Yuan, Y. W. Yue Wang, Y. W. Yuanda Wu, J. A. Junming An, and X. H. Xiongwei Hu, “Design and fabrication of wavelength tunable AWGs based on the thermo-optic effect,” Chinese Optics Letters, Vol. 16, Issue 1, pp. 010601 - , vol. 16, no. 1, p. 010601, Jul. 2018, doi: 10.3788/COL201816.010601.