Ring laser oscillation using silicon (111) mirrors fabricated by MEMS technology

IEICE Electronics Express

Kazusuke Maenaka¹  Kenichi Makimura¹  Takayuki Fujita¹  Kensuke Kanda¹  Taichi Hashimoto¹  Asei Miyamoto¹ 

[1] Graduate School of Engineering, University of Hyogo

关键词: ring laser gyroscope;    optical loop;    DRIE;    anisotropic wet etching;    semiconductor optical amplifier;   

DOI  :  10.1587/elex.8.2068

学科分类：电子、光学、磁材料

来源: Denshi Jouhou Tsuushin Gakkai

【 摘 要 】

References(4)In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time ring laser oscillation using a set of silicon (111) mirrors fabricated by microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) as an optical amplifier medium. Four (111) mirrors were fabricated perpendicular to a (110) silicon wafer surface to form an optical loop. The (111) mirrors were fabricated by a combination of deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) and anisotropic wet etching, followed by electroplating with a highly reflective Au film. Adjusting the mirror alignment for the oscillation was not required because the mirrors were already precisely positioned with the accuracy of the crystal orientation. In experiments, oscillation began at an injection current of more than 110 mA into the SOA. We confirmed that both forward and backward propagating lasers oscillated simultaneously in a single mode. Our results will especially be useful for realization of next-generation optical MEMS ring laser gyroscopes.

【 授权许可】

Unknown