MEMS: THE PATH TO LARGE OPTICAL CROSSCONNECTS

MEMS: THE PATH TO LARGE OPTICAL CROSSCONNECTS

ABSTRACT                               
                                 
Continuous growth in demand for optical network capacity and the sudden maturation of WDM(wave length division multiplexing) technologies have fueled the development of  optical network systems that transport tens to hundreds of wavelengths per fiber, with each wavelength modulated at 10 Gb/s or more. Micro-electromechanical systems devices are recognized to be the enabling technologies to build the next-generation cost-effective and reliable high-capacity optical cross connect. While the promises of automatically reconfigurable networks and bit-rate-independent photonic switching are bright, the endeavor to develop a high-port-count MEMS based OXC involves overcoming challenges in MEMS design and fabrication, optical packaging, and mirror control. Due to the interdependence of many design parameters, manufacturing tolerances, and performance requirements, careful trade-offs must be made in MEMS device design as well as system design. This paper emphasizes various design trade-offs, and multidisciplinary system considerations for building reliable and manufacturability large MEMS-based OXCs.