Voltage-controlled micromechanical SOI optical waveguides

Author

Eng, Terry T H ; Kan, Sidney C. ; Wong, George K.L.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Hong Kong Univ. of Sci. & Tech., Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong

fYear

1995

fDate

6-10 Nov 1995

Firstpage

195

Lastpage

197

Abstract

We demonstrate the fabrication and the operation of voltage-controlled movable SOI optical waveguides. The fabrication process is based on surface micromachining the SOI substrates. The dynamic response is studied. Our results indicate that a switching voltage of only a few volts is enough to produce a useful deflection amplitude of the guided light for typical fiber optic switching applications. A deflection amplitude of 290 μm for the guided light is demonstrated with voltage-controlled electrostatic actuation

Keywords

dynamic response; electro-optical deflectors; electro-optical switches; electrostatic devices; integrated optics; microactuators; micromachining; optical fabrication; optical waveguides; silicon-on-insulator; 10 V; 250 mum; SOI substrates; Si-SiO₂; cantilever beam; deflection amplitude; dynamic response; fabrication; fiber optic switching applications; guided light; movable SOI optical waveguides; surface micromachining; switching voltage; voltage-controlled electrostatic actuation; voltage-controlled micromechanical SOI optical waveguides; Micromechanical devices; Optical device fabrication; Optical films; Optical refraction; Optical surface waves; Optical variables control; Optical waveguides; Silicon; Structural beams; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microelectronics and VLSI, 1995. TENCON '95., IEEE Region 10 International Conference on

Print_ISBN

0-7803-2624-5

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/TENCON.1995.496371

Filename

496371