A variable optical attenuator based on silicon micromechanics

Author

Marxer, Cornel ; Griss, Patrick ; De Rooij, Nicolaas F.

Author_Institution

Inst. of Microtechnol., Neuchatel Univ., Switzerland

Volume

11

Issue

2

fYear

1999

Firstpage

233

Lastpage

235

Abstract

In this letter, we describe a variable optical attenuator for single mode fibers. As for its counterparts based on conventional mechanics the micromechanical attenuator operates by moving an obstructing element in the optical beam in order to adjust the light damping. The device is fabricated using the silicon micromachining technology. This allows one to integrate the electrostatic actuator together with the fiber alignment grooves and the obstructing element. With this design, an insertion loss below 1.5 dB was achieved. The response time was below 5 ms and no hysteresis was measured. The maximum attenuation was -57 dB. Backreflection attenuation was below -37 dB.

Keywords

integrated optics; micro-optics; micromachining; micromechanical devices; optical communication equipment; optical fabrication; optical fibre losses; silicon; 1.5 dB; 5 ms; backreflection attenuation; electrostatic actuator; fiber alignment grooves; insertion loss; light damping adjustment; maximum attenuation; micromechanical attenuator; obstructing element; optical beam; response time; silicon micromechanics; single mode fiber losses; variable optical attenuator; Attenuation; Damping; Electrostatic actuators; Micromachining; Micromechanical devices; Optical attenuators; Optical beams; Optical fiber devices; Optical losses; Silicon;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/68.740714

Filename

740714