Active phase change for a kernel nulling interferometer

Abstract

Active phase control is a vital component to any interferometry system. On a simple photonic device this can often be achieved using bulk optics before the chip, but for complicated systems active phase control on-chip is a vital component of the photonic design. One method of active phase control is using the thermo-optic effect. Using a chalcogenide waveguides, chromium heaters actively change the refractive index of the glass, this changes the optical path length of the light. This paper shows that chromium deposited above arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer will be able to produce multiple pi phase shifts at a rate of approximately 40 mW per π phase shift. Hence a chalcogenide based platform is suitable for a complicated photonic device like a Kernel-Nulling interferometer. Show more