Electrothermally actuated free space board-to-board optical interconnect with zero power hold

Abstract

We present an electrothermally actuated MEMS lens scanner for board-to-board free-space optical interconnect systems capable of zero standby power. U-shaped thermal brakes, and lens frames are designed, fabricated, and characterized with a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSELs) for dynamic beam steering. We demonstrate up to 170 mum displacement, at a maximum speed of 350 mum/s. The mechanical brakes have a holding force of 1.6 mN with switching speeds of up to 100 Hz. A telecentric (4-f) optical interconnect operating at 1.25 Gb/s is demonstrated. The microlens scanner increases the tilt tolerance of the board by 2.5deg.