Optical switch controllable by vertical motion MEMS structure

US10823913B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Michael G. Moebius · Somerville, US
• Steven J. Spector · Lexington, US
• Eugene H. Cook · Acton, US
• Jonathan J. Bernstein · Medfield, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 27, 2019
• Grant date: Nov 3, 2020
• Expiry date: Sep 27, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B2006/12145
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

MEMS-actuated optical switches can be implemented on photonic chips. These switches are compact, essentially planar, simple to implement and include only one moving MEMS component per switch. The switches exhibit low optical loss, require low power to operate, and are simple to control and easy to integrate with other optical devices. Each switch has two optical waveguides that are optically coupled in an ON switch state and not coupled in an OFF switch state. An end or a medial section of one of the two waveguides may translate between the ON and OFF states to affect the coupling. Alternatively, a coupling frustrator may translate between the ON and OFF states to affect the coupling.