Open Competition 1 - Electronics and Photonics

High Low Cost, Highly Scalabe Optical Switches Using Digital MEMS Mirror Arrays

Sponsor: Siimpel Corporation (formerly SiWave, Inc.)

• Project Performance Period: 11/1/2002 - 4/30/2005
• Total project (est.): $4,065,743.00
• Requested ATP funds: $1,978,137.00

Business, education, health care, homeland security, and other activities would benefit from widespread access to low-cost communications links offering very high bandwidth (data-carrying capacity). All-optical fiber networks, which transmit data much faster and over longer distances than electronic networks, can provide such access if low-cost, high-capacity optical switches can be developed to route the data traffic. SiWave plans a two-year project to develop and demonstrate a high-capacity switch design with 256 input/output ports using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) arrays of mirrors to route light within the switch. The proposed design would be much simpler and cheaper than other advanced optical switch designs using MEMS mirrors that rely on analog closed-loop control. SiWave's concept calls for pairs of digitally controlled mirrors in three-dimensional arrays to direct light in hundreds to thousands of different directions, reducing overall motion and using precise mechanical positioning to eliminate costly feedback circuitry. The design will increase greatly the possible number of ports in photonic switches while reducing the number of mirrors needed. Additional cost savings will result from the development of a process for assembling many optical components through passive self-alignment, as opposed to the complex active alignment that is now required. The ATP funding will accelerate the start of the research by an estimated four years. If successfully developed, the new technology would compete in a market for optical cross-connects projected to be worth $6 billion by 2006. The new switches would be 10 times cheaper, 20 times smaller, require less power, and be more reliable than other 3D MEMS-based approaches to optical switching. Reducing the cost of broadband networks can generate widespread benefits for the economy. Low-cost broadband communications lead to large overall reductions in communication costs as well as productivity improvements, while widespread availability of broadband services will enable new business opportunities in markets such as video on demand. New socially beneficial applications such as remote medical diagnosis and distributed sensor arrays for environmental monitoring would be facilitated. Homeland security could be enhanced as well through real-time sharing of multimedia by law enforcement and public safety personnel. Overall, a project like this could generate billions of dollars in benefits for the economy.

For project information:

Roman Gutierrez, (626) 821-0570
r.gutierrez@siwaveinc.com

ATP Project Manager

Gerald Castellucci, (301) 975-2435
gerald.castellucci@nist.gov