Freestanding, Micromachined, Multimode Silicon Optical Waveguides at lambda = 1.3 mum for Microelectromechanical Systems Technology.

Freestanding, multimode optical channel waveguides formed by micromachining silicon are demonstrated. Fabrication utilizes standard microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Losses in the 0.57-0.80-dB/cm range are measured for channel waveguides with an air-silicon-air structure, whereas losses in the 1.12-1.52-dB/cm range are measured for channel waveguides with a SiO(2)-silicon-SiO(2) structure. Freestanding channel waveguides, along with optical fibers and other MEMS structures, can readily be mounted on a silicon MEMS platform to provide optimal alignment for maximizing optical coupling, and they are thus expected to be useful in devices that involve light and MEMS structures.