Title :
Monolithic suspended optical waveguides for InP MEMS
Author :
Kelly, Daniel P. ; Pruessner, Marcel W. ; Amarnath, Kuldeep ; Datta, Madhumita ; Kanakaraju, S. ; Calhoun, Lynn C. ; Ghodssi, Reza
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
fDate :
5/1/2004 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We present a novel waveguide design for InP microelecromechanical systems. The substrate is removed from underneath the waveguide by sacrificial etching, and the suspended waveguide is supported by lateral tethers. This allows segments of the waveguide to be moved and prevents substrate leakage loss in the fixed segments of the waveguides. A single-mask fabrication process is developed that can be extended to more complex devices employing electrostatic actuation. Fabricated suspended waveguides exhibit a loss of 2.2 dB/cm and tether pairs exhibit 0.25-dB additional loss.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; etching; indium compounds; micro-optics; micromechanical devices; optical design techniques; optical fabrication; optical losses; optical waveguides; 0.25 dB; InP MEMS; InP microelectromechanical systems; electrostatic actuation; fabricated suspended waveguides; lateral tethers; monolithic suspended optical waveguides; sacrificial etching; single-mask fabrication process; substrate leakage loss; suspended waveguide; waveguide design; Indium phosphide; Integrated optics; Micromechanical devices; Optical device fabrication; Optical devices; Optical filters; Optical losses; Optical waveguides; Planar waveguides; Semiconductor waveguides;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LPT.2004.826075
