SMA actuators and related methods are described. One embodiment of an actuator includes a base; a plurality of buckle arms; and at least a first shape memory alloy wire coupled with a pair of buckle arms of the plurality of buckle arms. Another embodiment of an actuator includes a base and at least one bimorph actuator including a shape memory alloy material. The bimorph actuator attached to the base.

A method of monitoring a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) oscillating structure includes: driving the MEMS oscillating structure configured to oscillate about a rotation axis according to an operating response curve during which the MEMS oscillating structure is in resonance, wherein the MEMS oscillating structure is a non-linear resonator; inducing an oscillation decay of the MEMS oscillating structure at predefined tilt angle such that an oscillation of the MEMS oscillating structure decays from the predefined tilt angle over a decay period; measuring at least one characteristic of the oscillation decay; and determining a mechanical health of the MEMS oscillating structure based on the at least one characteristic of the oscillation decay.

A MEMS element includes a substrate, a fixing portion provided at the substrate, first and second actuators provided at the fixing portion, a drive target member coupled to the first and second actuators, a third actuator provided at the fixing portion, and a restriction member coupled to the third actuator. The first and second actuators drive the drive target member in a direction parallel to or crossing an upper surface of the substrate. The third actuator drives the restriction member in a direction crossing a movement direction of the drive target member to position the restriction member within a movement plane of the drive target member such that the restriction member restricts displacement of the drive target member.

A method of controlling power delivered to a shape memory alloy, SMA, actuator wire arrangement, wherein the arrangement comprises a plurality of SMA actuator wires, comprising: the steps of: applying, at a PWM frequency, to each of the SMA actuator wires during respective active periods a succession of voltage pulses; and applying, during a resistance measurement period, to one of the plurality of SMA actuator wires a resistance measurement current pulse, wherein the resistance measurement period corresponds to the respective active period of one of the plurality of SMA actuator wires.

An optical switching device (20) includes a substrate (39) and first and second optical waveguides (23, 25) having respective first and second tapered ends (62, 64), which are fixed on the substrate in mutual proximity one to another. A pair of electrodes (36, 38) is disposed on the substrate with a gap therebetween. A cantilever beam (32) is disposed on the substrate within the gap and configured to deflect transversely between first and second positions within the gap in response to a potential applied between the electrodes. A third optical waveguide (21) is mounted on the cantilever beam and has a third tapered end (60) disposed between the first and second tapered ends of the first and second waveguides, so that the third tapered end is in proximity with the first tapered end when the cantilever beam is in the first position and is in proximity with the second tapered end when the cantilever beam is in the second position.

The present invention relates to a MEMS device and related methods comprising a mirror for the measuring of light frequency. The MEMS mirror may rotate around a pivot point and is driven by a periodic force for continuous bi-directional motion without transient vibrations. The periodic force may further comprise transient functions comprising special waveforms when at the turn-around point of the bi-directional rotation.

Data center interconnections, which encompass WSCs as well as traditional data centers, have become both a bottleneck and a cost/power issue for cloud computing providers, cloud service providers and the users of the cloud generally. Fiber optic technologies already play critical roles in data center operations and will increasingly in the future. The goal is to move data as fast as possible with the lowest latency with the lowest cost and the smallest space consumption on the server blade and throughout the network. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for new fiber optic interconnection architectures to address the traditional hierarchal time-division multiplexed (TDM) routing and interconnection and provide reduced latency, increased flexibility, lower cost, lower power consumption, and provide interconnections exploiting N×M×D Gbps photonic interconnects wherein N channels are provided each carrying M wavelength division signals at D Gbps.

An optical circuit switch including a two-dimensional fiber collimator includes a hole plate to hold and align a plurality of optical fibers. Fiber pathways within the hole plate can be formed using a femtosecond laser irradiation chemical etching (FLICE) technique. The use of the FLICE technique allows for extremely precise channels to be formed which allows for fibers to be aligned more closely with their intended alignment. The technique also allows for the channels or fiber pathways to be formed in a thicker material, which allows for greater structural support and robustness of the fiber collimator in use.

A method of monitoring a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) oscillating structure includes: driving the MEMS oscillating structure configured to oscillate about a rotation axis according to an operating response curve during which the MEMS oscillating structure is in resonance, wherein the MEMS oscillating structure is a non-linear resonator; inducing an oscillation decay of the MEMS oscillating structure at predefined tilt angle such that an oscillation of the MEMS oscillating structure decays from the predefined tilt angle over a decay period; measuring at least one characteristic of the oscillation decay; and determining a mechanical health of the MEMS oscillating structure based on the at least one characteristic of the oscillation decay.

Data center interconnections, which encompass WSCs as well as traditional data centers, have become both a bottleneck and a cost/power issue for cloud computing providers, cloud service providers and the users of the cloud generally. Fiber optic technologies already play critical roles in data center operations and will increasingly in the future. The goal is to move data as fast as possible with the lowest latency with the lowest cost and the smallest space consumption on the server blade and throughout the network. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for new fiber optic interconnection architectures to address the traditional hierarchal time-division multiplexed (TDM) routing and interconnection and provide reduced latency, increased flexibility, lower cost, lower power consumption, and provide interconnections exploiting N×M×D Gbps photonic interconnects wherein N channels are provided each carrying M wavelength division signals at D Gbps.