title: Ultra-small silicon waveguide coupler switch using gap-variable mechanism.
abstract: Submicron-wide silicon waveguide coupler with gap variable mechanism is proposed for a compact optical waveguide switch. Two freestanding silicon waveguides are placed parallel with a submicron gap. The gap is changed by electrostatic comb-drive micro-actuators to control the coupling coefficient of the coupler. The fabricated device consisted of the silicon waveguides of 400 nm in width and 260 nm in thickness. The total size of the switch was 100 μm wide and 150 μm long. Decreasing the gap between the waveguides to 110 nm, the output intensity at drop port became a maximum while the output intensity at through port became a minimum. The extension ratio of the switch output was 17 dB for the waveguide displacement of 300 nm.
authors: Department of Nanomechanics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan. hane@hane.mech.tohoku.ac.jp
authors: Yuta
authors: Y
authors: Akihama
authors: Yoshiaki
authors: Y
authors: Kanamori
authors: Kazuhiro
authors: K
authors: Hane
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D055096:Optical Devices; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon