Large and dynamical tuning of a chalcogenide Fabry-Perot cavity mode by temperature modulation

Te-enriched chalcogenide glass Ge15As25Se15Te45 (GAST) is synthesized, thermo-optically characterized and used to fabricate a one dimensional photonic crystal cavity mode that is dynamically and reversibly tuned by temperature modulation. The optical cavity mode is designed using GAST and As2S3 glasses after fully determining their temperature dependence of the complex refractive indices in the visible and near infrared spectrum using spectroscopic ellipsometry. By making use of the very large thermo-optic coefficient (dn/dT = 4x10(-4)/degrees C) of GAST glass at 1.2 mu m, the cavity mode of the multilayer was tuned reversibly more than 16 nm, which is, to the best of our knowledge, an order of magnitude larger for this kind of cavity modulation. Wide and dynamical spectral tuning of low bandgap chalcogenide glasses via temperature modulation can be utilized in photonic crystal based integrated optics, quantum dot resonance matching, solid state and gas laser components, and infrared photonic crystal fibers. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America