Robust sliding-mode control of a MEMS optical switch

Over the last few years interests have emerged for application of MEMS in telecommunications. The use of MEMS for optical switching has turned to be the most attractive since this application could revolutionize fiber optic telecommunications. In this paper a robust control strategy based on sliding-mode control theory is developed for a MEMS optical switch, considering electrical, mechanical, and optical models. Sliding-mode control enables compact realization of a robust controller tolerant of device characteristics variation, non-linearties, and types of inherent instabilities. Robustness of proposed control scheme against disturbances is proved by Lyapunov second method and demonstrated through simulations. In addition, the presented control scheme is simple to implement in practical application.