Design and use of compact lensed fibers for low cost packaging of optical MEMS components

MEMS technology offers some unique product opportunities for optical networking applications. One of the critical factors that determine the commercial success of any optical MEMS components is the cost for packaging and optical fiber alignment. Small form factor MEMS components such as protection switches and variable optical attenuators require the integration of optical fibers and lenses with the MEMS silicon chip itself. This work uses a MEMS 2 × 2 optical switch as a test vehicle to demonstrate a fiber optic lens design, specifically engineered for use with the micromachined silicon chip, that enables the use of passive fiber optic lens alignment to significantly reduce component assembly cost. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)