Photonic MEMS: From Laser Physics to Cell Biology

Abstract

This paper reviews the recent progress from optical MEMS to photonic MEMS, nanophotonics and biophotonic MEMS, which represents a latest trend of the expansion and penetration of the MEMS technology to the nano and bio areas. Different types of devices are demonstrated as the examples of the natural synergy of MEMS with the photonics, including thermo-optic switches, tunable lasers, injection-locked laser systems, nano-photonic bandgap devices and biophotonic cell chips. The use of MEMS not only produces better integration, robustness and compactness, but also improves the functionalities and specifications of the devices.