A tunable waveguide filter, formed from two waveguides, has an improved selectivity. The filter is tuned by passing a current through the filter. One of the waveguides is a semi-active waveguide. The increased absorption of charge carriers that occurs when current is injected into the semi-active waveguide is compensated by gain enhancement in the waveguide, because the material used for the semi-active waveguide is selected to provide an appropriate amount of gain. Therefore, the gain compensates for the losses that arise from free carrier absorption when the tuning current is applied to the filter.