Design and characteristics of reflectivity tunable mirror with MZI and loop waveguide on SOI

To achieve a reconfigurable photonic integrated circuit with active elements, we proposed a reflectivity tunable mirror constructed using a Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with a micro heater and loop waveguide on a silicon photonics platform. In this paper, the principle of the operation, design, fabrication, and measurement results of the mirror are presented. In theory, the phase shift dependence of the mirror relies on the coupling coefficient of the directional couplers of the MZI. When the coupling coefficient κ2 was 0.5 and 0.15, the reflection could be turned on and off with a phase shift of π/2 and π, respectively. The reflection power of the fabricated mirror on the silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate was changed by more than 20 dB by a phase shift. In addition, it was demonstrated that the phase shift dependence of the mirror changes with the coupling coefficient of the fabricated devices.

Thermo-optical properties of silicon nitride Mach-Zehnder interferometer for the on-chip quantum random number generator

Here we study the thermo-optical properties of an on-chip silicon nitride Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). The spectral shift of the MZI is associated with a change in the chip temperature. This can be explained by a change in the splitting ratio of the directional couplers, as well as a significant change in phase difference between waveguide arms. We experimentally found a phase shift of 2π when heated by 1.67 °C and changes in resonant wavelength at different temperatures (dλ/dT) equal 12.0 pm/°C, theoretically obtained a formula for an arbitrary splitting ratio of the directional couplers in an MZI, and determined the temperature stability required to the device operation inside a quantum cryptography system.