Etalon intends to apply its patented interferometric modulator (IMod) technology to the development of next generation integrated optical components. IMods will allow for the fabrication of a high speed reconfigurable optical backplanes that can serve as an all optical switch, and as the basis for an array of photonic subsystems. These optical backplanes are unique in that they will allow for reconfiguration times in the 100 nanosecond regime, and are extremely simple in construction. Additionally, they will be especially amenable to the integration of other photonic components including VCSELs, attenuators, modulators, tunable filters, and other optical functions, many of which can be fabricated in the form of IMods. Etalon will model and evaluate the potential for these devices, as well as perform some basic process experimentation to assess fabrication risk. The result will be a thorough optical and electromechanical design and process specification for an IMod based photonic switch, with additional models for optical subsystems based on this switchAnticipated Benefits/Commercial Applications: The device concepts resulting from the application of this technology will enable an array of optical subsystems for use in telecommunications, optical computing/storage, and IC interconnects. As a switch, an IMod based backplane will bring exceptionally fast reconfiguration speeds, design flexibility, and ruggedness. As the basis for highly integrated optical subsystems, this device has the potential to reduce racks of electronics and optics to a single chip. Significantly reducing cost and complexity in the manufacture of elaborate photonic networks and ultra high performance optical processing hardware
