Development of a new 1×4 micro optical switch

In this paper, we report the development of a new 1×4 micro optical switching device which utilizes electrostatic actuation and vertical silicon mirrors. This device is fabricated using a bulk micromachining process, which allows the fabrication of vertical mirrors and U-grooves through deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon. A limited number of process steps are required in the fabrication. Moreover, the device is patterned in a single lithographic step. A relatively high yield (up to 70%) is achieved during the microfabrication due to this compact process flow. More importantly, a small footprint (<13mm 2 in die size) is realized. A single mode fiber with a tapered end is placed into a U-groove and positioned passively by a fiber stopper, prior to adhesive bonding with a silicon substrate and a glass cover. Preliminary characterization on the mechanical and optical performance of this device has been carried out, which reveals the promising characteristics of this 1×4 optical switch for use in optical networks.