Tailored scaling:: a possibility to improve the performance of ultra-wide continuously tunable photonic devices

We studied the effect of scaling the size of DBR-based micromechanical tunable vertical micro-cavity devices based on electro-mechanical model calculations. An investigation that results in a scaling in such a way that the end device replicates the same electro-mechanical tuning characteristic as the original is reported. A comprehensive FEM analysis based on the Mindlin plate theory shows a marked improvement in the tuning delay as well as the structural and performance stability by downscaling. The tuning delay decreased by 66%, and the resonant frequencies increased by 74% by scaling down by a factor of three. These coupled with the reduced peak amplitude of the transient response of the scaled down device point to an improved stability.