Fabrication and characterization of an SOI-based thermally tuned phase modulator

The key process steps in the fabrication of a thermally-tuned silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based phase modulator are detailed. By altering the waveguide temperature, the thermo-optic effect is used to vary the modulator's output. Additionally, various experimental approaches are used to determine the operating characteristics of the resulting device. This includes a swept wave system (SWS) suitable for testing the performance of the phase modulator. Analyses will yield such measurements as insertion loss, polarization dependent loss (PDL), peak wavelength, and ripple period.