Continuously tunable delay line based on SOI tapered Bragg gratings

The realization of an integrated delay line using tapered Bragg gratings in a drop-filter configuration is presented. The device is fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguides using a Deep-UV 248 nm lithography. The continuous delay tunability is achieved using the thermo-optical effect, showing experimentally that a tuning range of 450 ps can be obtained with a tuning coefficient of -51 ps/degrees C. Furthermore the system performance is considered, showing that an operation at a bit rate of 25 Gbit/s can be achieved, and could be extended to 80 Gbit/s with the addition of a proper dispersion compensation. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America