The Application of MEMS Technology in Optical Communications

摘要

The MEMS devices that we are developing are designed for a compact, low voltage, low power fiber optic switching mechanism used in active optical networking. The micromachined optical switch redirected such light to different optical fibers for example by using tilting micro-mirrors. Micromachine-based fault-tolerant fiber-optic attenuator is proposed based on the use of MEMS-based small-tilt micromirror technology, which is high resolution and high-speed. All these devices take advantage of the silicon micromachining technology not only for their functionality but also to allow self aligned positioning of the single mode fibers. Therefore, they have the potential of low fabrication costs and can be produced in large quantities. Iolon has realized optical switches manufacture largely and automatically with MEMS technology. Packaging of finished product is a major challenge, which has to be done at a much earlier stage to obtain optimal solution. MEMS offer the potential benefits as large-scale electronic integrated circuits (ICs), also offer their own challenges. Unlike electronic circuits, these are mechanical devices, and reliability for telecommunications applications is still to be proven.