WO2003089977A1 - Dispositif micro optique - Google Patents

Dispositif micro optique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2003089977A1
WO2003089977A1 PCT/JP2003/005047 JP0305047W WO03089977A1 WO 2003089977 A1 WO2003089977 A1 WO 2003089977A1 JP 0305047 W JP0305047 W JP 0305047W WO 03089977 A1 WO03089977 A1 WO 03089977A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
optical waveguide
slit
waveguide core
optical
insertion plate
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/JP2003/005047
Other languages
English (en)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
Tatsuo Izawa
Katsuhiko Kurumada
Toshiaki Tamamura
Masatoshi Kanaya
Yoshihiko Suzuki
Original Assignee
Ntt Electronics Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ntt Electronics Corporation filed Critical Ntt Electronics Corporation
Priority to AU2003231375A priority Critical patent/AU2003231375A1/en
Publication of WO2003089977A1 publication Critical patent/WO2003089977A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/35—Optical coupling means having switching means
    • G02B6/351—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements
    • G02B6/3512—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror
    • G02B6/3514—Optical coupling means having switching means involving stationary waveguides with moving interposed optical elements the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror the reflective optical element moving along a line so as to translate into and out of the beam path, i.e. across the beam path
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/35—Optical coupling means having switching means
    • G02B6/354—Switching arrangements, i.e. number of input/output ports and interconnection types
    • G02B6/3544—2D constellations, i.e. with switching elements and switched beams located in a plane
    • G02B6/3548—1xN switch, i.e. one input and a selectable single output of N possible outputs
    • G02B6/355—1x2 switch, i.e. one input and a selectable single output of two possible outputs

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a micro-optical device having an optical waveguide, and more particularly, to a micro-optical device in which the configuration and arrangement of an insertion plate inserted into a slit provided in the optical waveguide are optimized.
  • An optical communication system requires an optical switch for optical path conversion. Recently, a matrix optical switch for switching an optical path between a plurality of inputs and outputs has become particularly important.
  • a matrix optical switch for switching an optical path between a plurality of inputs and outputs has become particularly important.
  • MEMS micro electromechanical 1 system
  • FIG. 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining the configuration of a conventional optical switch
  • FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view for explaining a state near a slit provided in the optical switch.
  • FIG. 1B is a schematic sectional view taken along line IB-IB ′ in FIG. 1A.
  • this optical switch has a waveguide layer 35 in which a lower clad 32, an optical waveguide core 33, and an upper clad 34 are sequentially laminated on a substrate 31, and the optical waveguide core 33 is used as an optical waveguide. Is composed.
  • a slit 36 is provided at the intersection of the optical waveguides of the waveguide layer 35 so as to cross the first optical waveguide core 33a on the incident side and the second optical waveguide core 33b on the transmission side.
  • a cantilever 38 is provided so that the insertion plate 37 can be put in and taken out of the slit 36 filled with a matching filter (not shown). The insertion plate 37 attached to the cantilever 38 can be moved in the depth direction of the slit 36 (perpendicular to the optical axis of the optical waveguide) in accordance with the movement of the cantilever 38.
  • the light beam irradiated into the slit 36 from the end face of the first optical waveguide core 33a is blocked in the slit 36;
  • the light beam irradiated into the slit 36 from the end face of the waveguide core 33 a is irradiated to the opposing end face of the second optical waveguide core 33 b without being blocked by the insertion plate 37. Is realized.
  • the light beam emitted from the end face of the first optical waveguide core 33a is reflected by the reflection surface 39 of the insertion plate 37, and is reflected by the third optical waveguide core 33c.
  • the light propagating through the first optical waveguide core 33a is optically converted into the third optical waveguide core 33c.
  • the waveguide layer 35 is provided with a desired number of such slits 36 and insertion plates 37, thereby realizing an optical matrix switch capable of multiple inputs and multiple outputs.
  • the cantilever 38 is driven mainly by a bimetal that deforms in response to a change in temperature.
  • a bimetal that deforms in response to a change in temperature.
  • an electric heating wire is provided on the cantilever 38 to adjust the amount of current to control the position of the insertion plate 37, or A method in which the free end portion of the cantilever 38, which is in a warped state in advance by the bimetal effect, is attracted to the substrate 31 supporting the fixed end by electrostatic attraction (M. Katayama et.
  • the conventional matrix optical switch has the following problems.
  • the conventional method of controlling the position of the insertion plate with a cantilever that uses the bimetal effect due to heating or static electricity as the driving force adopted by the matrix optical switch the matching oil filled in the slit is used when the insertion plate moves up and down.
  • G is the distance between the surface of the insertion plate and the end face of the optical waveguide in the slit.
  • v is the velocity of the insert plate
  • a y is the total displacement of the insert plate
  • the viscous damping coefficient is (:, and the area of the insert plate is A.
  • the distance between the surface of the insertion plate and the end face of the optical waveguide in the slit (that is, the thickness of the matching oil layer in contact with the surface of the insertion plate) becomes smaller as G becomes smaller. Becomes larger. Therefore, the insertion plate that moves in a narrow slit receives a larger viscous resistance. If the viscous resistance is to be kept below a certain level, the gap G between the surface of the insertion plate and the end face of the optical waveguide in the slit is made narrower. There is a limit to specify.
  • the viscous resistance that acts is different between the front surface and the back surface. Therefore, when the insertion plate is moved, a force that causes “twisting” is applied. If such "twisting” occurs beyond a certain level, it will come into contact with the inner wall of the slit, causing damage to the insertion plate itself, misalignment, or scratches on the inner wall of the slit.
  • Fig. 2A ⁇ There was a problem that they could not be compatible with each other.
  • the gap between each of the front and back surfaces of the insertion plate and the inner wall of the slit is arranged so as to be equal, thereby avoiding the above-mentioned problem of "twisting".
  • the dashed line in the figure indicates the center position of the optical waveguide core, and therefore, this position corresponds to the peak position of the intensity of the light beam guided in the optical waveguide core.
  • a slit 36 is provided so as to cross the first optical waveguide core 33a on the incident side and the second optical waveguide core 733b on the transmission side, and the first The optical waveguide core 33 a and the third optical waveguide core 33 c on the reflection side are not cut and separated by the slit 36, and the reflection surface 39 of the insertion plate 37 is connected to the first optical waveguide core. It is made to coincide with the intersection of 33 a and the third optical waveguide core 33 c, and to give priority to increasing the coupling efficiency in the third optical waveguide core 33 c on the reflection side. In order to avoid this, the gap between the front and back surfaces of the insertion plate 37 and the inner wall of the slit 36 is made equal.
  • FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining an arrangement in which priority is given to suppressing deterioration of the signal light due to the interference effect.
  • the first optical waveguide core 33a on the incident side and the third optical waveguide on the reflection side are shown.
  • the core 3 3 c is cut and separated by the slit 36, and the first light on the incident side
  • both sides of the insertion plate 37 are removed.
  • the gap between the surface and the inner wall of the slit 36 is made equal.
  • the light beam component b incident from the outermost part of the first optical waveguide core 33 a is a light component reflected due to a refractive index mismatch between the matching oil and the optical waveguide core 33.
  • d is emitted to the outside of the third optical waveguide core 33c on the reflection side, so that deterioration of the signal light due to the interference effect is avoided.
  • the reflected light component c of the light beam component a corresponding to the intensity peak position of the incident light is not reflected at the center of the third optical waveguide core 33 c on the reflection side, and in an extreme case, However, the reflected light component c is emitted to the outside of the third optical waveguide core 33 c, and the coupling efficiency of the reflected light by the reflector 37 to the third optical waveguide core 33 c on the reflection side is reduced.
  • FIG. 2C is a diagram for explaining an arrangement for suppressing both the deterioration of the signal light and the reduction of the coupling efficiency due to the interference effect.
  • the first optical waveguide core 33a on the incident side is shown in FIG.
  • the third optical waveguide core 33 c on the reflection side is cut and separated by the slit 36, and the end face of the first optical waveguide core 33 a on the incident side and the end face of the third optical waveguide core 33 c on the reflection side are separated.
  • the gap between the front and back surfaces of the insertion plate 37 and the inner wall of the slit 36 is made equal.
  • the present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to optimize a configuration and an arrangement of an insertion plate inserted into a slit provided in an optical waveguide.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a micro-optical device provided with an insertion plate that suppresses optical loss and deterioration of signal light and has no risk of damage to the inner wall of the slit.
  • the present invention simultaneously solves the problem of torsion during the movement of the insertion plate and the problem of the optical characteristics shown in FIGS.
  • the first invention is a micro optical device comprising an optical waveguide, a slit, an insertion plate inserted into and removed from the slit, and driving means for driving the insertion plate on a substrate.
  • the optical waveguide has at least first, second, and third optical waveguide cores, and a center line of each of the first optical waveguide core and the second optical waveguide core in the optical waveguide direction. Are arranged on the same straight line, and the center line and the center line of the third optical waveguide core in the optical waveguide direction have an intersection, and the slit includes the intersection in the inside thereof.
  • a first support facing the first optical waveguide core, a second support facing the second optical waveguide core, and the first support Light reflecting means provided between the body and the second support.
  • the thickness of the first support is half the thickness of the insertion plate, and the insertion plate is in the slit.
  • the incident light beam is reflected by the light reflecting means and coupled to the third optical waveguide core, while the insertion plate is outside the slit, It is configured such that a light beam incident from a first optical waveguide core is coupled to the second optical waveguide core.
  • a second invention is the micro optical device according to the first invention, wherein the center of the slit and the center of the insertion plate are the first optical waveguide core and the second light.
  • the third optical waveguide core is disposed at the intersection of the center line of the third optical waveguide core in the optical waveguide direction and the center line of the third optical waveguide core in the optical waveguide direction.
  • a third invention is the first or second micro optical device, wherein the slit has a refractive index matching inside the slit having the same refractive index as that of the first to third optical waveguide cores. Liquid is filled.
  • FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view illustrating a state near a slit provided in an optical switch having a conventional configuration
  • FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along a line IB—IB ′ in FIG. 1A.
  • FIG. 2A to 2C are diagrams for explaining a problem that the conventional insertion plate exerts on an optical signal
  • FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining a state near a slit provided in the micro optical device of the present invention.
  • FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line IIIB-IIIB ′ in FIG. 3A.
  • FIGS. 3A and 3B are views for explaining a configuration example of the micro optical device of the present invention
  • FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view for explaining a state near a slit provided in the micro optical device.
  • FIG. 3B is a schematic sectional view taken along the line IIIB-IIIB ′ in FIG. 3A.
  • a lower clad 12, an optical waveguide core 13, and an upper clad 14 are sequentially laminated on a substrate 11, and the optical waveguide core 13 is formed.
  • a waveguide layer 15 as an optical waveguide is formed.
  • a slit 16 is formed so as to cross the first optical waveguide core 13 a on the incident side and the second optical waveguide core 13 b on the transmission side.
  • the slit 16 is filled with matching oil, and further provided with an insertion plate 17 which is driven by a cantilever (not shown) to be taken in and out of the slit 16.
  • the moving direction of the insertion plate 17 may be the vertical direction of the slit 16 (the vertical direction of the paper in FIG. 3B), and the slit 16 may be in the direction orthogonal to this (the front and back direction of the paper in FIG. 3B). You may make it move inside.
  • the insertion plate 17 includes a support 17 b for maintaining the mechanical strength of the reflector 17 a, a reflector 17 a supported on the support 17 b, and a rear support 1 ⁇ c It is composed of
  • the support 17b is made of a material transparent to incident light, and a reflection surface 18 for signal light is provided between the reflector 17a and the support 17b.
  • the reflection plate 17a is located in the slit 16 and reflects the incident light emitted from the end face of the first optical waveguide core 13a on the incidence side. It is in a state where
  • the first optical waveguide core 13a and the first optical waveguide core 13a receive the reflected light reflected by the reflector 17a from the end face of the first optical waveguide core 13a.
  • the optical waveguide core 13 c of FIG. 3 is separated from the optical waveguide core 13 c by a slit 16, and the reflected light generated at the interface between the first optical waveguide core 13 a and the matching oil in the slit 16 becomes the third optical waveguide core 13 c.
  • the optical waveguide core 13c is not coupled to the optical waveguide core 13c.
  • the reflection surface 18 of the insertion plate 17 is located at the center in the thickness direction of the insertion plate 17, and the reflection plate 17 a in the slit 16 is formed by a slit 16 It is set at a position where the gap with the inner wall is equal. Further, the reflection surface 18 is arranged so as to have an intersection point between the center of the first optical waveguide core 13a and the center of the third optical waveguide core 13c on the surface.
  • Support 17 b that supports the reflecting plate 17 a is, for example, S I_ ⁇ 2 and S i N film of transparent several m in a wavelength range of the signal light formed by.
  • the reflecting surface 18 has a high reflectance of 90% or more with respect to light in a so-called long wavelength band (1.3 m band, 1.5 m band) for fiber-optic communication.
  • a multi-layer mirror is used, which is formed by laminating a metal film (for example, AuCr film) or a dielectric thin film formed on the surface by evaporation or sputtering.
  • the rear support 17 c of the reflector 17 a can also be achieved by film forming a S i ⁇ 2 and S i N. These film formations can be performed together with the cantilever manufacturing by using the MEMS process technology described above.
  • the slit 16 in the case of a silica-based optical waveguide is formed by, for example, RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) .
  • RIE Reactive Ion Etching
  • the slit wall is made vertical and the width is made as small as possible to reduce the slit loss. It is desirable to minimize this as much as possible, and it is particularly preferable to keep it to about 10 m or less (Shimokawa et al., “Study on low-loss self-maintaining optical matrix switch”, NTT R & D Vol. 44, No. 8, p. 684). , 1995).
  • the insertion plate 17 that is, the reflection plate 17a
  • the light propagates through the first optical waveguide core 13a.
  • the incident light passes through the transparent support 17b and is reflected by the reflecting surface 18 with respect to the incident light, and then is coupled to the third optical waveguide core 13c.
  • the reflector 17a is lifted out of the slit 16 or moves right and left along the slit 16 and deviates from the optical path
  • the light beam from the first optical waveguide core 13a passes through the second optical waveguide core 13a. Coupled to the optical waveguide core 13b.
  • the first optical waveguide core 13a and the first optical waveguide The waveguide core 13 is separated from the third optical waveguide core 13 c by the slit 16, and the third optical waveguide core 13 c receives incident light from the end face reflected by the reflector 17 a. Since the reflected light generated at the interface between 3a and the matching oil in the slit 16 is not coupled to the third optical waveguide core 13c, this reflected light and the reflected light from the reflecting surface 18 are converted into the third light guide. There is no interference in the waveguide core 13c.
  • the reflector 17a in the slit 16 is set at a position where the gap between the inner surface of the slit 16 and each of the front and rear surfaces thereof is equal, a force that generates a twist when the reflector 17a moves. Does not occur.
  • the reflection surface 18 is arranged so as to have on its surface the intersection of the center of the first optical waveguide core 13a and the center of the third optical waveguide core 13c, the first optical waveguide core 13a
  • the center position of the spatial intensity distribution of the light incident from the core 13a matches the optical axis position of the third optical waveguide core 13c, and high coupling efficiency can be obtained.
  • the width of the slit can be reduced as compared with the conventional configuration. This will be described below in comparison with the configuration shown in FIG. 2C.
  • T slit is the thickness of the slit
  • T mr is the thickness of the insertion plate
  • T c is the thickness of the insertion plate
  • T mr T slit can be made thinner by the absence of the term.
  • Table 1 shows a comparison of the slit widths T sl , t when is set to 8 m.
  • T mr 3 to 4 m
  • T s of the conventional configuration, i t is, 15 zm back and forth when the crossing angle ⁇ force 90 °, when the crossing angle 0 is 70 ° 17 ⁇ : 18 m
  • T sl i t of the configuration of the present invention is 11.3 m when the crossing angle 0 is 90 °
  • Fig. 4 shows the results obtained by simulation of the viscous resistance that the reflector receives from the matching oil in the arrangement where the gap G between the front and back surfaces of the reflector provided in the micro optical device of the present invention and the slit wall is equal.
  • the horizontal axis represents the time elapsed T
  • the vertical axis represents the moving distance D of the insertion plate.
  • the thickness is a two-layer structure consisting of each S i New chi layer of 0. 25 m and A 1 layer, a distance of 100 m the cantilever of the lever length 600 m in width 10 m
  • the displacement and the time when a return motion occurs due to the elasticity are plotted.
  • the kinematic viscosity of the matching oil is 1 cmS tokes.
  • the size needs to be about 50 im both vertically and horizontally.
  • the required moving distance of the insertion plate is 50 m, as long as it can be slid out of the region of 5 Oim vertically and horizontally around the optical waveguide core.
  • the configuration and arrangement of the insertion plate inserted into the slit provided in the optical waveguide are optimized without increasing the slit width. It is possible to provide a micro optical device having an insertion plate that is free from damage and that can suppress light loss and deterioration of signal light.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Light Control Or Optical Switches (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un dispositif micro optique comprenant une plaque insérée (17) pouvant être disposée dans une fente (16) comportant un corps de support (17b) tourné vers un premier coeur guide de lumière (13a) et transmettant la lumière guidée dans un guide de lumière, un corps de support arrière (17c) tourné vers un second coeur guide de lumière (13b), et une plaque réfléchissante (17a) disposée entre le corps de support (17b) et le corps de support arrière (17c), l'épaisseur du corps de support (17b) représente la moitié de celle de la plaque insérée (17), et les centres de la fente (16) et de la plaque insérée (17) sont positionnés au niveau d'une intersection des lignes médianes du premier coeur guide de lumière (13a) et du second coeur guide de lumière (13b) avec la ligne médiane du troisième coeur guide de lumière (13c).
PCT/JP2003/005047 2002-04-19 2003-04-21 Dispositif micro optique WO2003089977A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2003231375A AU2003231375A1 (en) 2002-04-19 2003-04-21 Micro optical device

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2002118167A JP2003315700A (ja) 2002-04-19 2002-04-19 微小光学装置
JP2002-118167 2002-04-19

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2003089977A1 true WO2003089977A1 (fr) 2003-10-30

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PCT/JP2003/005047 WO2003089977A1 (fr) 2002-04-19 2003-04-21 Dispositif micro optique

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JP (1) JP2003315700A (fr)
AU (1) AU2003231375A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2003089977A1 (fr)

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2002214547A (ja) * 2001-01-12 2002-07-31 Sumitomo Electric Ind Ltd 光スイッチ

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2002214547A (ja) * 2001-01-12 2002-07-31 Sumitomo Electric Ind Ltd 光スイッチ

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JP2003315700A (ja) 2003-11-06
AU2003231375A1 (en) 2003-11-03

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