Periodic structural defects in Bragg gratings and their application in multiwavelength devices

In this paper, we present the finding that periodic structural defects(PSDs) along a Bragg grating can shift the Bragg wavelength. This effect is theoretically analyzed and confirmed by numerical calculation. We find that the Bragg wavelength shift is determined by the defect size and the period of the defects. The Bragg wavelength can be well tuned by properly designing the PSDs, and this may provide an alternative method to fabricate grating-based multiwavelength devices, including optical filter arrays and laser arrays. In regards to wavelength precision, the proposed method has an advantage over the traditional methods, where the Bragg wavelengths are changed directly by changing the grating period. In addition, the proposed method can maintain grating strength when tuning the wavelength since only the period of defects is changed. This will be a benefit for devices such as arrays.