Tunable photonic elements at the surface of an optical fiber with piezoelectric core

TL;DR

This paper proposes a theoretical model for tunable photonic elements on optical fibers with piezoelectric cores, enabling precise control of light propagation for applications like delay lines and dispersion compensation.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel theoretical framework linking piezoelectric actuator shape and voltage to effective fiber radius variation, enabling tunable photonic device design.

Findings

Design of a miniature tunable optical delay line

Development of a miniature tunable dispersion compensator

Potential application to optical buffers

Abstract

Tunable photonic elements at the surface of an optical fiber with piezoelectric core are proposed and analyzed theoretically. These elements are based on whispering gallery modes whose propagation along the fiber is fully controlled by nanoscale variation of the effective fiber radius, which can be tuned by means of a piezoelectric actuator embedded into the core. The developed theory allows one to express the introduced effective radius variation through the shape of the actuator and the voltage applied to it. In particular, the design of a miniature tunable optical delay line and a miniature tunable dispersion compensator is presented. The potential application of the suggested model to the design of a miniature optical buffer is discussed.