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Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics

While 3-D microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) allow switching between a large number of ports in optical telecommunication networks, the development of such systems often suffers from design, fabrication and packaging constraints due to the complex structures, the wafer bonding processes involved,...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Sharma, Suraj, Kohli, Niharika, Brière, Jonathan, Ménard, Michaël, Nabki, Frederic
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6680699/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31262085
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi10070435
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author Sharma, Suraj
Kohli, Niharika
Brière, Jonathan
Ménard, Michaël
Nabki, Frederic
author_facet Sharma, Suraj
Kohli, Niharika
Brière, Jonathan
Ménard, Michaël
Nabki, Frederic
author_sort Sharma, Suraj
collection PubMed
description While 3-D microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) allow switching between a large number of ports in optical telecommunication networks, the development of such systems often suffers from design, fabrication and packaging constraints due to the complex structures, the wafer bonding processes involved, and the tight alignment tolerances between different components. In this work, we present a 2-D translational MEMS platform capable of highly efficient planar optical switching through integration with silicon nitride (SiN) based optical waveguides. The discrete lateral displacement provided by simple parallel plate actuators on opposite sides of the central platform enables switching between different input and output waveguides. The proposed structure can displace the central platform by 3.37 µm in two directions at an actuation voltage of 65 V. Additionally, the parallel plate actuator designed for closing completely the 4.26 µm air gap between the fixed and moving waveguides operates at just 50 V. Eigenmode expansion analysis shows over 99% butt-coupling efficiency the between the SiN waveguides when the gap is closed. Also, 2.5 finite-difference time-domain analysis demonstrates zero cross talk between two parallel SiN waveguides across the length of the platform for a 3.5 µm separation between adjacent waveguides enabling multiple waveguide configuration onto the platform. Different MEMS designs were simulated using static structural analysis in ANSYS. These designs were fabricated with a custom process by AEPONYX Inc. (Montreal, QC, Canada) and through the PiezoMUMPs process of MEMSCAP (Durham, NC, USA).
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spelling pubmed-66806992019-08-09 Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics Sharma, Suraj Kohli, Niharika Brière, Jonathan Ménard, Michaël Nabki, Frederic Micromachines (Basel) Article While 3-D microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) allow switching between a large number of ports in optical telecommunication networks, the development of such systems often suffers from design, fabrication and packaging constraints due to the complex structures, the wafer bonding processes involved, and the tight alignment tolerances between different components. In this work, we present a 2-D translational MEMS platform capable of highly efficient planar optical switching through integration with silicon nitride (SiN) based optical waveguides. The discrete lateral displacement provided by simple parallel plate actuators on opposite sides of the central platform enables switching between different input and output waveguides. The proposed structure can displace the central platform by 3.37 µm in two directions at an actuation voltage of 65 V. Additionally, the parallel plate actuator designed for closing completely the 4.26 µm air gap between the fixed and moving waveguides operates at just 50 V. Eigenmode expansion analysis shows over 99% butt-coupling efficiency the between the SiN waveguides when the gap is closed. Also, 2.5 finite-difference time-domain analysis demonstrates zero cross talk between two parallel SiN waveguides across the length of the platform for a 3.5 µm separation between adjacent waveguides enabling multiple waveguide configuration onto the platform. Different MEMS designs were simulated using static structural analysis in ANSYS. These designs were fabricated with a custom process by AEPONYX Inc. (Montreal, QC, Canada) and through the PiezoMUMPs process of MEMSCAP (Durham, NC, USA). MDPI 2019-06-30 /pmc/articles/PMC6680699/ /pubmed/31262085 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi10070435 Text en © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Sharma, Suraj
Kohli, Niharika
Brière, Jonathan
Ménard, Michaël
Nabki, Frederic
Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics
title Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics
title_full Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics
title_fullStr Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics
title_full_unstemmed Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics
title_short Translational MEMS Platform for Planar Optical Switching Fabrics
title_sort translational mems platform for planar optical switching fabrics
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6680699/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31262085
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/mi10070435
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