Fabrication of a total internal reflection optical switch with vertical fluid fill-holes
US6324316A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 14, 2000 |
| Grant date | Nov 27, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 14, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49016
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method of fabricating a switching element or a matrix of switching elements includes providing a waveguide substrate having at least two waveguides that intersect at a trench such that optical coupling between the waveguides is dependent upon the presence or absence of an index-matching fluid at the intersection of the waveguides with the trench. Fluid is supplied to the trench via a fluid fill-hole that extends through a heater substrate in a direction that is generally perpendicular to a substrate surface on which at least one heater is fabricated. In the preferred embodiment, the fluid fill-hole is formed in a step of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactive ion etching (RIE). The waveguide substrate having at least two waveguides and the heater substrate having the heaters and the fill-hole are bonded together after the substrates are aligned such that the trench is in fluid communication with at least one fluid fill-hole and is in thermal communication with at least one heater. Optical fibers are then coupled to the waveguides. Preferably, a structurally weakened edge portion is formed during the ICP RIE step so that the edge portion can be removed after the two substrates …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.