Optical performance of 4x4 MEMS optical switches
Abstract
Optical switches made with Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology bear advantages of both MEMS and traditional optics. It is of very importance to control position misalignments and angular misalignments, which have heavy effects on insertion loss of the MEMS optical switches. In this paper, a 4×4 MEMS optical matrix switches is proposed, in which on-off micro-mirrors are arranged with Crossbar switching network. Ball-lensed single-mode optical fiber collimators are used as input and output ports. With overlap integral calculus theory of Gaussian beams coupling, the insertion loss of the optical matrix switches, and also its main origins, i.e. the position misalignments and the angular misalignments, are calculated and analyzed. Some useful conclusions are drawn to guide designing such devices. As for the misalignments tolerances: 2μm of input/output lateral positioning misalignment, 0.15°for input/output angular misalignment, and 0.15°for micro-mirror angular misalignment, the insertion loss of the pilot study are 2.77dB for the highest value.
- Publication:
-
Optical Transmission, Switching, and Subsystems II
- Pub Date:
- February 2005
- DOI:
- 10.1117/12.569561
- Bibcode:
- 2005SPIE.5625..828H