Optical system properties of a reconfigurable MEMS interconnect

The optical system properties of a reconfigurable surface micromachined micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) interconnect are presented. An array of optical signals from a singlemode MT connector is first collimated by a refractive lenslet array. Each beam may be individually redirected by a rotatable, 45 degree flip-up MEMS mirror. The second, complimentary MEMS mirror folds the optical beam back through the lenslet array and couples it into a second fiber row on the MT connector. Much work has been presented promoting the utility of MEMS configurations to manipulate optical signals. This work examines. with ray tracing simulations, the proposed configuration from the detailed optical system perspective.