Abstract
Abstract The photonic crystals (PCs) have been attractive for wide range tele- communication applications because of its capability on confining light propagation in a sharp bend within small spaces and its extreme low transmission loss. The tunable PCs might have even more potential for optical integral circuit in the future. Recently, 2-D PCs have been studied extensively since they are relatively easy to fabricate and could be used to provide in-plane confinement of light through either point or line defects. Through PCs with a single line defect and integrated waveguide design, the modes of light propagation could be controlled. MEMS technology has been combined with photonic band gap (PBG) structures for optical-communication field in recent years. Most of conventional PC devices are fixed structure and could not be tuned for different applications. In this research, we present a novel narrow band optical tunable switch based on photonic crystal and MEMS technology. Through the change of the perforated holes dimensions (PC structure) on polysilicon by heating underneath the silicon dioxide (SiO2) slab, we could tune the incident light wave (1.55μm), which means manipulate the "on/off" mechanism of a narrow band pass light source by our thermal actuated PC switch. In this research, we have done most of the simulation analyses including mechanical models for the thermal expanding of the perforated holes, and the optical models for the light propagation in PBG structures. Also, we have fabricated the devices successfully in mechanical portion. In the present experiments, we have confirmed the feasibility of our research.