Photonic MEMS tunable laser sources

This article covers laser configurations, design and experiments of photonic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) tunable laser sources. Three different types of MEMS tunable lasers such as MEMS coupled-cavity lasers, injection-locked laser systems and dual-wavelength tunable lasers are demonstrated as examples of natural synergy of MEMS with photonics. The expansion and penetration of the MEMS technology to silicon optoelectronic creates on-chip optical systems at an unprecedented scale of integration. While producing better integration with robustness and compactness, MEMS improves the functionalities and specifications of laser chips. Additionally, MEMS tunable lasers are featured with small size, high tuning speed, wide tuning range and CMOS compatible integration, which broaden their applications to many fields.