Electrostatically actuated mechanooptical waveguide ON-OFF switch showing high extinction at a low actuation-voltage

Veldhuis, G.J.; Nauta, T.; Chen, Gui; Berenschot, J.W.; Lambeck, Paul

doi:10.1109/2944.748106

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…This also results in a large ON/OFF contrast and low crosstalk due to the exponential dependence of optical coupling on the waveguide gap. A similar approach has been proposed in the past [25], [26] with large attenuation ( 65 dB) at low actuation voltages (2.5 V) obtained experimentally, although successful switching was not demonstrated. Optical switches using MEMS-actuated evanescent coupling in gallium arsenide waveguides were simulated in [27], and MEMS-actuated displays using cantilevers and evanescent coupling were experimentally demonstrated in [28].…”

Section: B Advantages Of Mems-based Couplersmentioning

confidence: 82%

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InP-based optical waveguide MEMS switches with evanescent coupling mechanism

Pruessner

Amarnath

Datta

et al. 2005

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

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An optical waveguide MEMS switch fabricated on an indium phosphide (InP) substrate for operation at 1550 nm wavelength is presented. Compared to other MEMS optical switches, which typically use relatively large mirrors or long end-coupled waveguides, our device uses a parallel switching mechanism. The device utilizes evanescent coupling between two closely-spaced waveguides fabricated side by side. Coupling is controlled by changing the gap and the coupling length between the two waveguides via electrostatic pull-in. This enables both optical switching and variable optical coupling at voltages below 10 V. Channel isolation as high as 47 dB and coupling efficiencies of up to 66% were obtained with switching losses of less than 0.5 dB. We also demonstrate voltage-controlled variable optical coupling over a 17.4 dB dynamic range. The devices are compact with 2 m 2 m core cross section and active area as small as 500 m 5 m. Due to the small travel range of the waveguides, fast operation is obtained with switching times as short as 4 s. Future devices can be scaled down to less than 1 m 1 m waveguide cross-sectional area and device length less than 100 m without significant change in device design.[1372]Index Terms-Directional coupler, indium phosphide (InP), integrated waveguides, optical MEMS switches.

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Section: B Advantages Of Mems-based Couplersmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The fabrication process is simple compared to [25], [26] since our waveguides are parallel and actuated in-plane rather than out-of-plane, resulting in a self-aligned process without the need for wafer bonding. Compared to [29], [30], couplers are relatively wavelength insensitive.…”

Section: B Advantages Of Mems-based Couplersmentioning

confidence: 99%

InP-based optical waveguide MEMS switches with evanescent coupling mechanism

Pruessner

Amarnath

Datta

et al. 2005

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

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“…Once d/ε r g 0 is decided in the design process, we can first use a numerical solver to find ϕ, then use equation (9) to establish the relation between applied voltage and the bend span.…”

Section: Empirical Formulaementioning

confidence: 99%

“…MEMS based VOAs, because of their high performance and reliability, have been a focal point of research and development resulting in commercially viable products. There are various techniques that have been deployed to make MEMS VOAs, including (1) mechanical shutters between two fibers, [1][2][3][4] (2) micro-mirrors between fibers, 5 (3) the MARS (mechanical antireflection switch) attenuator, 6 (4) air-gap misalignment between rib/channel waveguides 7 and (5) devices based on evanescent coupling [8][9][10] The first three of these are all based on moving MEMS elements such as membranes or mirrors with light propagating in free space. In the fourth type light propagates within moving waveguides and the attenuation is controlled through alignment of a free space section of the light path.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical attenuation by vertically bending a rib waveguide through electrostatic zipping actuation

Zhang

Jessop

2005

Photonic Applications in Devices and Communication Systems

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In this paper we present a variable optical attenuator (VOA) that is based on microbending of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguide. Optical attenuation is achieved by etching away the underlying SiO 2 layer in a section of the waveguide and using electrostatic deflection to introduce vertical bending. When a single-mode rib waveguide is bent, the light traveling through it will undergo mode conversion. The amount of energy transferred to lossy modes depends on the curvature of the bending section. This mechanism is studied with the help of beam propagation method (BPM) simulations. In order to achieve a substantial amount of attenuation by bending, voltages in excess of the pull-in threshold are used, bringing a portion of the waveguide into contact with the underlying silicon substrate. An electrostatic zipping action determines the bending radii and the length of the contact region. The equation for the relationship between the bending radius of the waveguide and the controlling voltage is established through the energy method, and is numerically solved. FEM modeling is also performed to validate the result from the energy model. The device is fabricated by conventional silicon processing steps, plus steps to solve the stiction problem. The test setup for the device consists of a home-made interference microscope to monitor the vertical movement of the waveguide under test and align the input fiber to the waveguide, and other instruments to monitor the output from the device and perform the attenuation measurement. The experimental data agree well with both the BPM simulations and the calculations for the zipping actuation. The tested devices show that we can achieve 14dB attenuation over a 1mm span of a bent waveguide.

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“…However, fully micromachined bending fiber type switches have also been demonstrated [9][10][11][12] using actuators, such as electrostatic [9] or electrothermal [10][11][12] designs that are capable of producing the high forces and displacements required to bend optical fibers. Moving waveguide optical switches have also been demonstrated based on micromachined integrated waveguides instead of attached optical fibers [13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%