Air-spaced cylindrical prisms for fast thermo-optic switching

T. Zhong, Xuming Zhang, H. Cai, A. Q. Liu

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceedingConference article published in proceeding or bookAcademic researchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper reports a design of double micromachined silicon cylindrical prisms separated by a thin air gap to enable fast thermo-optic switching. The fabricated structure has obtained an extinction ratio of 29.8 dB. This design is advantageous over conventional micromechanical switches for the absence of mechanical stability problems. The use of total internal reflection significantly enhances the sensitivity of switching to small refractive index change of only 5.2×10-3, which allows an on-off switching at 2.2 μs by localized heating through a thermal resistor patterned on top of the prism.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTRANSDUCERS and EUROSENSORS '07 - 4th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems
Pages2409-2412
Number of pages4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2007
Externally publishedYes
Event4th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, TRANSDUCERS and EUROSENSORS '07 - Lyon, France
Duration: 10 Jun 200714 Jun 2007

Conference

Conference4th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, TRANSDUCERS and EUROSENSORS '07
Country/TerritoryFrance
CityLyon
Period10/06/0714/06/07

Keywords

  • Cylindrical prisms
  • Optical switch
  • Thermo-optic effect
  • Total internal reflection

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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