This paper presents non-silicon MEMS technology for fabrication of Optical communication
components. Both pure non-silicon and combined micromachining technologies were realized. For the
pure non-silicon surface micromachining technology, the Ni and permalloy were chosen as the structure
layer; the photo resist and copper were chosen as the sacrificial layer. Based on the technology, the
micro-hinge was realized. It may find ample application in the out-of-plane microstructure, which is
common in free-space optical transmission. As an example, a MEMS variable optical attenuator is
introduced. It consisted of a hinged shutter to adjust the optical power transmission between the input
and output optical fibers. For the combined micromachining fabrication, the electroplating was
combined with the traditional bulk silicon technology to realize some unique structure for passive
alignment. For example, we had developed the micro-fabricated nickel clamps for packaging of optical
fibers in photonics devices. Compared with the all silicon scheme, this approach only involves one
additional sputtering, photolithography, and electroplating process.. The presented non-silicon
micromachining process offered more choice of material and facilitated the implementation of structure
innovation.
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