Crystalline silicon tilting mirrors for optical cross-connect switches

Author

Greywall, Dennis S. ; Busch, Paul A. ; Pardo, Flavio ; Carr, Dustin W. ; Bogart, Gregory ; Soh, Hyongsok T.

Author_Institution

Lucent Technol. Bell Labs., Murray Hill, NJ, USA

Volume

12

Issue

5

fYear

2003

Firstpage

708

Lastpage

712

Abstract

This paper discusses a two-piece approach for fabricating two-dimensional (2-D) arrays of tilting MEMS mirrors with application in very-large optical cross-connect switches. In the new process, a two-sided etching of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers is used to create crystalline mirrors on a first wafer that is later aligned and bonded to a separate wafer containing the activation electrodes, traces, and bond pads. The approach allows a very close spacing of mirror elements and a very simple design for the mechanical structures, and also greatly simplifies wire routing.

Keywords

etching; micromachining; micromirrors; microswitches; optical arrays; optical communication equipment; optical fabrication; optical switches; silicon-on-insulator; telecommunication switching; wafer bonding; 2D arrays; MOEMS; SOI wafers; Si; activation electrodes; bond pads; crystalline Si tilting mirrors; micromachined structures; optical cross-connect switches; tilting MEMS mirrors; two-dimensional arrays; two-sided etching; very-large cross-connect switches; Crystallization; Electrodes; Etching; Micromechanical devices; Mirrors; Optical arrays; Optical switches; Silicon on insulator technology; Two dimensional displays; Wafer bonding;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/JMEMS.2003.818067

Filename

1240142