title: Optical phase modulators using deformable waveguides actuated by micro-electro-mechanical systems.
abstract: An optical phase modulator is presented by using micro-electro-mechanical systems to actuate deformable silicon waveguides. Via mechanically stretching the waveguide length, the optical path is extended, resulting in a phase shift. The experimental results show that a phase shift of near 0.4π is achieved at 200 V for both TE- and TM-polarized waves by cascading six phase modulation units, agreeing well with the theoretical prediction. The power consumption is estimated to be smaller than 0.2 mW at 200 V, mainly resulting from the leakage current.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Photonics Technologies, National Tsing Hua University, HsinChu 300, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Chao
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Chun-Che
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Jiun-Ming
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ming-Chang M
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jia-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Shieh