Self-aligned mechanical optical switch

Details Self-aligned mechanical optical switch Self-aligned mechanical optical switch

1995-06-07

1997-04-22

Ngo, John

Optical waveguides

With optical coupler

Switch

385147, 385 43, 385 14, C02B 626

Patent

active

056235640

ABSTRACT:
A mechanically stable self-aligned optical switch having a low insertion loss is achieved by employing two silica optical structures containing a plurality of waveguides. The waveguides within each structure are arranged in a common plane. It is possible to achieve such silica optical structures by cleaving a monolithic silica optical structure. In one embodiment, the structures are disposed on respective flat surfaces of moveable and fixed bases that are aligned in a common plane. The structures are further positioned with their cleaved edges adjacent to and facing one another. In this manner, the waveguides of the cleaved structures are effectively self aligned in the direction normal to the flat surface of the bases. In operation, the moveable base moves in the direction along the cleaved edges to selectively provide connections between the waveguides in each structure.

REFERENCES:
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patent: 5185825 (1993-02-01), Shigematsu et al.
patent: 5461683 (1995-10-01), Harman
patent: 5483608 (1996-01-01), Yokomachi et al.
patent: 5500917 (1996-03-01), Daniel et al.
N. Kashima, "Passive Optical Components for Optical Fiber Transmission", chap. 13, pp. 307-325 (Artech House 1995).
C.H. Henry et al., "Glass Waveguides on Silicon for Hybrid Optical Packaging," 7 J. Lightwave Technol. pp. 1530-1539 (1989).
Z. Weissman and A. Hardy, "Modes of periodically segmented waveguides," J. Lightwave Technol. vol. 11, No. 11, pp. 1831-1838 (1993).

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