Method and structure for a pusher-mode piezoelectrically actuated liquid metal optical switch
First Claim
1. A structure for an optical switch, comprising:
- a chamber housed within a solid material, said chamber having an actuator liquid;
a plurality of seal belts within the chamber, wherein the plurality of seal belts are coupled to the solid material;
a plurality of liquid metal globules, coupled to the plurality of seal belts and coupled to the chamber;
a plurality of piezoelectric elements coupled to a plurality of membranes, said plurality of membranes coupled to the chamber; and
a plurality of optical waveguides coupled to the chamber, said plurality of optical waveguides operable to be blocked or unblocked by the plurality of liquid metal globules.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and structure for an optical switch. According to the structure of the present invention, a liquid-filled chamber is housed within a solid material. A plurality of seal belts within the liquid-filled chamber are coupled to the solid material, while a plurality of piezoelectric elements are coupled to a plurality of membranes. The plurality of membranes are coupled to the liquid-filled chamber, and a plurality of optical waveguides are coupled to the liquid-filled chamber. The plurality of seal belts are coupled to a plurality of liquid metal globules. According to the method, one or more piezoelectric elements are actuated, causing one or more corresponding membrane elements to be deflected. The deflection of the membrane element changes a pressure of actuator liquid and the change in pressure of the actuator liquid breaks a liquid metal connection between a first contact and a second contact of the electrical switch. The breaking of the liquid metal connection is operable to block or unblock one or more of the plurality of optical waveguides.
-
Citations
32 Claims
-
1. A structure for an optical switch, comprising:
-
a chamber housed within a solid material, said chamber having an actuator liquid;
a plurality of seal belts within the chamber, wherein the plurality of seal belts are coupled to the solid material;
a plurality of liquid metal globules, coupled to the plurality of seal belts and coupled to the chamber;
a plurality of piezoelectric elements coupled to a plurality of membranes, said plurality of membranes coupled to the chamber; and
a plurality of optical waveguides coupled to the chamber, said plurality of optical waveguides operable to be blocked or unblocked by the plurality of liquid metal globules. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
12. A structure for an optical switch, comprising:
-
a piezoelectric substrate layer;
an actuator fluid reservoir layer coupled to the piezoelectric substrate layer, said actuator fluid reservoir layer further comprising a plurality of piezoelectrically actuated pusher elements;
a chamber layer coupled to the actuator fluid reservoir layer, said chamber layer comprising a plurality of membranes coupled to the plurality of piezoelectrically actuated pusher elements;
a via layer coupled to the chamber layer, wherein said via layer comprises a plurality of vias;
a liquid metal channel layer coupled to the via layer, said liquid metal channel layer coupled to a plurality of optical waveguides; and
an actuator liquid-filled chamber housed within the liquid metal channel layer, wherein the actuator liquid-filled chamber comprises one or more globules of liquid metal coupled to a plurality of seal belts, said actuator liquid-filled chamber coupled to the plurality of membranes by the plurality of vias and said one or more globules of liquid metal operable to block or unblock the plurality of optical waveguides.
-
-
25. A method for switching of one or more optical signals using a liquid metal switch, comprising:
-
actuating one or more piezoelectric elements;
deflecting one or more corresponding membrane elements by the actuation of the one or more piezoelectric elements;
changing a pressure of actuator liquid by the deflection of the one or more membrane elements; and
the change in pressure of the actuator liquid breaking a liquid metal connection between a first contact and a second contact of the liquid metal switch thereby blocking or unblocking one or more of a plurality of optical waveguides. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
Specification