Micromechanical tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

We report the study on a short wavelength-tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser utilizing a monolithically integrated bridge tuning microelectromechanical system. A deformable-bridge top mirror suspended above an active region is utilized. Applied bridge-substrate bias produces an electrostatic force which reduces the spacing of air-gap and tunes the resonant wavelength toward a shorter wavelength （blue-shift）, Good laser characteristics are obtained： such as continuous tuning ranges over 11 nm near 940 nm for 0-9 V tuning bias, the peak output power near 1 mW and the full-width-half-maximum limited to approximately 3.2-6.8 rim. A detailed simulation of the micromechanical and optical characteristics of these devices is performed, and the ratio of bridge displacement to wavelength shift has been found to be 3：1.

Optimization designed large-stroke MEMS micromirror for adaptive optics

A novel micromirror based on the PolyMUMPs process is designed and presented. The hexagonal micromirror with a diameter of 450 μm consists of three supporting bilayer cantilevers and a mirror plate. The bilayer cantilevers, formed with a polysilicon layer and a gold layer, elevate the mirror plate according to residual stress-induced bending. Both analytical and finite element analysis （FEA） models are built to calculate the elevated height of the free end of the cantilever. The analytical solution is in accordance with the FEA simulation results, with longitudinal stresses applied only. Results of a three-dimensional （3D） simulation with two direction stresses applied also show the elevated height to be proportional to the width of the cantilever and the length of the gold layer. Due to the torque of the joint, the elevated heights of the two kinds of cantilevers assembled with the mirror plates are much smaller than those of the free end of the cantilevers. Both micromirrors with different cantilevers are fabricated. The elevated heights of the fabricated micromirrors are measured using Veeco optical profiler, which show good coincidence with simulation results.

Free-space 1×2 wavelength-selective switches for wavelength-division multiplexing optical networks

A free-space 1 ×2 wavelength-selective switch （WSS） based on thin-film filter technology is proposed. The 1 × 2 WSS is fabricated with an electromagnetic actuator, a reflecton prism, a narrow-band thin-film filter, and three fiber collimators. The working principle and the configuration of WSS are illuminated. The experimental results indicate a fiber-to-fiber insertion loss ranging from 1.109 to 1.249 dB with 2-V voltage input, which satisfies the application of optical fiber communication.

Study on a MEMS silicon-based non-silicon mirror for an optical switch

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) silicon-based non-silicon mirror for a 2D optical switch is designed, fabricated and measured. The result shows that the mirror has good reflective performance. And driven by static electricity, it can rotate more than 10 at voltage less than 15 V. This kind of novel mirror will have good potential applications for MEMS optical switches.

Wavelength-selective switch based on a high fill-factor micromirror array

A novel design and fabrication approach for a high fill-factor micro-electro-mechanical system （MEMS） micromirror array-based wavelength-selective switch （WSS） is presented. The WSS is composed of a polarization-independent transmission grating and a high fill-factor micromirror array. The WSS is successfully demonstrated based on the fabricated high fill-factor micromirror array. Test results show that the polarization-dependent loss （PDL） is less than 0.3 dB and that the insertion loss （IL） of the wavelength channel is about -6 dB. The switching function between the two output ports of WSS is measured. The forward switching time is recorded to be about 0.5 ms, whereas the backward switching time is about 7 ms.

Avoiding silicon/glass bonding damage with fusion bonding method

A novel fusion bonding method between silicon and glass with Nd: YAG laser is described. This method overcomes the movable mechanical parts damage caused by the electrostatics force in micro-electronic machine-system (MEMS) device during the anodic bonding. The diameter of laser spot is 300 μm, the power of laser is 100 W, the laser velocity for bonding is 0.05 m/s, the average bonding tension is 6.3 MPa. It could distinctly reduce and eliminate the defects and damage, especially in movable sensitive mechanical parts of MEMS device.

Novel MEMS variable optical attenuator

A novel MEMS variable optical attenuator (VOA), which has completely different attenuation mechanism from those in literatures, is proposed and demonstrated in this paper. The basic operation principle is that the optical power coupled between two initially aligned single-mode fibers will be continuously attenuated while the end of one of the fibers is deflected from the initial position. A micromachined solenoid type inductor with a U-shaped permalloy magnetic core is used to attract the deflectable fiber that has a permalloy coat on its end. To fabricate the multi-layer three-dimensional inductive component, a new UV-LIGA process for thick photoresists is developed, combining advantages of both SU-8 and AZ-4000 series photoresists. The inductive component is approximately 1.7 mm×1.3 mm×50μm in size and has a low resistance value (- 2.1Ω). The whole size of the VOA before packaging is 30 mmx2 mmx0.6 mm. The first prototype shows less then 3-dB insertion loss at 0-dB attenuation and nearly 40-dB attenuation range with less than 20 mW electrical input power at wavelength 1550 nm.