Title :
Micro-optical gate for fiber optic communication
Author :
Hashimoto, Etsu ; Uenishi, Yuji ; Honma, Kazuharu ; Nagaoka, Shinji
Author_Institution :
NTT Opto-Electron. Labs., Tokyo, Japan
Abstract :
An in-line fiber optical gate which features wavelength independence, high extinction ratio, and high reliability has been developed. It consists of a micromechanical actuator and a micro-fiber collimator with two hemispherical end fibers facing each other. The actuator is a torsional electrostatic actuator with a micromirror for light beam chopping and is fabricated by nickel surface micromachining. In an experimental demonstration to confirm the fundamental functionality of the gate, it was found that it could modulate the amplitude of a light beam sharply when the actuator was driven by about 10 V at 1 kHz
Keywords :
amplitude modulation; electrostatic devices; microactuators; micromachining; mirrors; optical collimators; optical communication equipment; optical fibres; optical modulation; reliability; 1 kHz; 10 V; Ni; Ni surface micromachining; fiber optic communication; fundamental functionality; high reliability; in-line fiber optical gate; light beam chopping; micro-fiber collimator; micro-optical gate; micromechanical actuator; micromirror; torsional electrostatic actuator; two hemispherical end fibers; wavelength independence high extinction ratio; Amplitude modulation; Electrostatic actuators; Extinction ratio; Micromachining; Micromechanical devices; Micromirrors; Nickel; Optical collimators; Optical fiber communication; Optical surface waves;
Conference_Titel :
Solid State Sensors and Actuators, 1997. TRANSDUCERS '97 Chicago., 1997 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Chicago, IL
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3829-4
DOI :
10.1109/SENSOR.1997.613651
