Monolithic integration of waveguide structures with surface-micromachined polysilicon actuators

The integration of optical components with polysilicon surface micromechanical actuation mechanisms show significant promise for signal switching, fiber alignment, and optical sensing applications. Monolithically integrating the manufacturing process for waveguide structures with the processing of polysilicon actuators allows actuated waveguides to take advantage of the economy of silicon manufacturing. The optical and stress properties of the oxides and nitrides considered for the waveguide design along with design, fabrication, and testing details for the polysilicon actuators are presented