A high-speed low-voltage stress-induced micromachined 2 x 2 optical switch

A low-voltage electrostatically actuated 2 x 2 fiber optic switch is achiev ed using a stress-induced curved polysilicon actuator. The curved polysilic on beam substantially lowers the electrostatic operating voltage of the swi tch, Large mirror displacement (300 mu m) and low operating voltage (20 V) are obtained simultaneously. Sub-millisecond switching time (<600 mu s), lo w optical insertion loss (0.7 dB), and small polarization-dependent loss (0 .09 dB) have been achieved.