Use of photonic quantum well as tunable defect in multilayer narrowband reflection-and-transmission filter

By using a photonic quantum well (PQW) as a tunable defect layer, a theoretical analysis on the optical properties in a multilayer narrowband reflection-and-transmission filter can be given. It is found that the resonant peaks in the reflection and transmission spectra are shifted to shorter wavelengths as the number of periods in the PQW increases. The shifting feature is more salient if the QW is deeper, that is, the refractive index contrast in the constituents of the PQW is increased. This novel design provides an alternative for achieving a tunable filter instead of using the usual electrooptical defect.