Faculty Publications

Diffractive Micro-Arrays for Active Spectroscopy and Interconnect Applications

Document Type

Conference

Keywords

Diffraction Grating, MOEMS, Optical Interconnects, Spectroscopy

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Proceedings of SPIE-The International Society for Optical Engineering

Volume

4647

First Page

7

Last Page

15

Abstract

The use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology has opened the door for many applications. In particular, by exploiting the reconfigurability of optical surfaces fabricated with this technology, many sensor, communication and spectroscopic systems can benefit. The controlled re-direction of single or multiple optical input sources can lend itself to high throughput sample analysis or massively parallel optical connectivity. In addition, the change in a MEMS-based optical surface can result in a flexible spectral analysis of incoming radiation. We report on the recent advances in our projects which are focused on the design/simulation, materials processing and integration issues involved with the creation and optimized operation of such diffractive micro-arrays. In this presentation, the state of the art in such devices will be presented which will include the process flow associated with production, structural metrology, optical performance, and parallel switching capabilities of the systems. The use of numerous materials including polysilicon, silicon dioxide and selected polymers as structural layers has enabled the production of devices which can be tailored for specific, performance related applications. Examples to be presented include diffractive surfaces with substantial (1 cm × 1 cm) active areas as well as large arrays with sub-micron feature sizes. Functional integration of the prototype devices include optical interconnects, active spectroscopy and bio/chem diagnostic systems. © 2002 SPIE · 0277-786X/02/$15.00.

Department

Department of Physics

Original Publication Date

1-1-2002

DOI of published version

10.1117/12.469823

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