MEMS-based Optical Transceiver
The goal of the project is to develop an affordable integrated optical system to perform channel selection in high performance passive optical networks using wavelength division multiplexing, which can provide terabit connection speed in metropolitan networks on inside data centers. The device will be based on a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) mirror and, in addition to the cost limitations, it must have a low power consumption and be small enough to be integrated with the required control electronics in a standard package. The challenges of this project include the definition of a microfabrication platform that can simultaneously satisfy the optical and mechanical requirements and the design of a system capable of working over a large number of channels to minimize the number of different parts in a network. To facilitate design, modeling of the optical system and the MEMS device will be carried out with beam propagation and finite element software packages.
Moreover, this research project is conducted in collaboration with an industrial partner and therefore the resulting device must not only satisfy the performance criteria but also be amenable to large scale production. It is critical that the device maintains its functionality despite the variability of the fabrication process. Since this project requires expertise in multiple areas, it is conducted by a multidisciplinary team and will offer students the opportunity to gain experience in optics, MEMS and electronics.
The University of Québec in Montréal (UQAM) is home to the only undergraduate program in microelectronic engineering in Canada. The research in engineering at UQAM is centered on the design and fabrication of novel integrated systems. The professors working in this area are regrouped in the Research Center on the Co-design and Fabrication of Microsystems (CoFaMic), which has received over 4 million dollars to expand its facilities in the last five years. Finally, the campus of the Faculty of Science of UQAM is located at the heart of Montréal were many world renowned festivals take place, such as the Montréal Jazz Festival and Just for Laughs.
