Optical micromachines for photonic networks

摘要

The optical micromacines controlling the light in spatial and wavelength domains are based on the micro-optomechatronics which handles small objects in micrometers and covers the fields from monolithic fabrication and control techniques. Their advantageous features include quick response, high mechanical stability, and low driving power because of the small inertia effects. A wide variety of functions such as wavelength tuning and optical path switching has been realized. This paper describes typical applications corresponding to these functions and their possible implementations: optical manipulation for small optical components based on momentum transfer of photons, micro lenses fabricated monolithically on a substrate for optical integration circuits, tunable fiters with moving mirrors driven by the electrostatic force for pulse shaping, and optical switches based on thermocapillarity for cross connect or add/drop multiplexing operations in network systems. These applications are useful for next-generation photonic reconfigurable networks.