Abstract
Periodic photonic crystal composed of two dielectric materials forms a photonic band-gap, and photons within this band-gap cannot propagate through the structure. This excellent property has made photonic crystals useful for communication applications such like narrow-band filters, frequency-selective mirrors, and high-Q cavities. Nowadays several theoretical researches and fabrication methods have been proposed. There are more and more evidences that the integration of these photonic crystals, passive and active components will be helpful to realize complex optical circuits. Conventional photonic crystals are usually designed as stationary structures. Therefore, the applications to various fields are limited. It is thanks to the aid of MEMS technology and nano fabrication techniques that we are able to extend the applications of photonic crystals. So far, many tunable photonic crystal devices have been proposed. We here present a novel MEMS-based tunable photonic crystal device. It not only overcomes limits that exist in conventional photonic crystals, but provides more flexible and extensive applications.