Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Gratings for Ultrafast Wavelength-Selective Switching and Spectral Shaping

We present a pixelated nano-opto-electro-mechanical (NOEM) grating that delivers ultracompact, reconfigurable spectral control on chip [1]. By exploiting electromechanically induced symmetry breaking, the grating's coupling strength can be tuned at the level of individual “pixels,” enabling synthesis of complex spectral filters and arbitrary spectral profiles on demand. The prototype occupies only$\sim 0.007 ~\text{mm}^{2}$and achieves wavelength-selective switching with nanosecond-scale response and high contrast. The device's low operating voltage (a few volts) yields ultralow switching energy on the order of$\sim 1 \text{pJ}$per operation. This technology offers a path toward fast, reconfigurable photonic networks and processors by bringing high-speed spectral modulation into a MEMS-integrated platform.