A micro-opto-mechanical switch integrated on silicon for optical fiber network

Due to the increasing complexity of optical networks, low speed, polarisation and wavelength insensitive fiber compatible optical switches become more and more interesting, especially for network safety and network reconfiguration. We propose an integrated opto-mechanical switch by combining two mass-production technologies: integrated optics on silicon and silicon micromachining. The feasibility of this switch is demonstrated with performances not far from the telecommunication specifications.