SOI/DRIE All-Fiber Optical Switch for High Power Applications

摘要

An all-fiber optical switch based on silicon on insulator (SOI) and deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) technology has been developed. The novel switch is designed for applications requiring high optical power transfer, such as routing in optical energy conversion and transfer systems, while requiring low electrical power for switch actuation. The optical switch was realized by attaching a short optical fiber segment to a large-displacement microactuator, suspended between fixed input and output optical fibers. When the fibers are coaxially aligned, optical transfer is achieved between the fixed input and output fibers. The present work offers the potential for low electrical power operation, high-density array fabrication, fully-integrated manufacturing, and decoupled electromechanical/optical performance. The device concept and fabrication process is described, and optical transfer efficiency results are discussed. Current switches employ integrated electrothermal actuators to move the intermediate optical fiber segment, and switches based on lower-power electrostatic actuators will also be described.