An electrostatically actuated 1*2 moving-fiber switch

A 1*2 moving-fiber switch for optical protection switching is presented. A detailed measurement of the optical performance is given. A coupling loss of 0.5 dB is achieved in the lensless optical path based on buttcoupled standard single-mode fibers. The actuation voltage is approximately 30 V. Both the electrostatic parallelplate actuators and the fiber alignment structures are realized by anisotropic machining of crystalline silicon. This type of switch is designed for compact rows of switches.