Silicon Photonics Wavelength-Independent C-Band Tunable Optical Filter With Feasible Thermal Tuning Requirements

A filter design based on Vernier microrings and wideband directional couplers is proposed for ASE noise suppression in next generation DCI applications. We demonstrate a 40 nm FSR-free filter with > 20.5 dB average ER and 3dB-BW of 75 GHz, achieving wavelength-independent performance and full tunability with a maximum tuning temperature of 75 K.