Nils Kummer

Assembly and interconnection technologies for electrical and optical microsystems

Silicon micromachining, thin-film-multilayer-technology, integrated optical circuits and micro-optics were combined to realize optoelectronic microsystems. The potential of silica based inorganic waveguide materials and optical polymers were investigated and compared with respect to their process compatibility and their ability for integration with electronic, optoelectronic and micromechanical functions. An integrated optical modulator, an optical 2 by 2-switch and a micro-optical receiver were realized as test devices. The results reveal advantages of polymeric materials with respect to the optical functions of modulating or switching of light on the basis of thermo- optical phase shifting. However, the integration of the various process steps into a complete microsystem could only be accomplished with silica based optical circuits.