MEMS orientational optomechanical media for microwave nonlinear applications

The fabrication and testing of orientational optomechanical media suitable for microwave phase conjugation is described. It consists of metal-coated dielectric elongated beams 1 mm×100 μm×10 μm suspended by nonconductive torsional springs attached to a microwave transparent frame. Rotation of single elements, in a polarized electromagnetic field at 15 GHz, was measured and found to be in a good agreement with theory. This first experimental implementation of using microelectromechanical structures (MEMS) for nonlinear microwave devices demonstrates the potential of an entirely new class of devices.