This paper describes the design and characterization of monolithic clamping structures for mechanical packaging of optical fibers in optical MEMS devices. Both single crystal silicon and nickel LIGA components have been investigated [1,2]. Mechanical clamping methods for optical fiber integration were perused both for on-chip attachment as well as alignment-assist in conjunction with other packaging methods. Arrays clamps with normal clamping forces ranging from 3mN to 375mN were designed, fabricated and characterized. A detailed theoretical analysis of clamping force for each design is presented and compared to measured results from fabricated devices. The clamps were evaluated on their ability to maintain alignment under a range of mechanical and thermal loads. Four arrays of eight clamp sets with varying applied normal clamping forces were designed by varying the deflection of 10μm and 20μ cantilever beams, and arranged in single-clamp and double-clamp configurations. A 100μm moment arm, integrated into the clamp structure, permitted the cantilevers to be initially deflected by the inserted fiber face during the fiber channel population. The populated test clamp arrays were heated from ambient conditions to 55 degrees Celsius to assess their stability under thermal strain, and monitored with an integrated Fabry-Perot whitelight interferometer. The maximum induced axial misalignment did not exceed 3μm. In addition to current theoretical and experimental results, alternative mechanical fiber clamp designs for both silicon and nickel microfabrication are presented and analyzed.
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