MEMS research of Morgan and Ghodssi featured in NASA Tech Briefs

An article highlighting the research of Brian Morgan (Ph.D. Electrical Engineering 2006) and Associate Professor Reza Ghodssi (ECE/ISR) is featured in the January 2007 issue of NASA Tech Briefs/Photonic Tech Briefs. Ghodssi was Morgan's Ph.D. advisor.

The research, "Aligning Optical Fibers by Means of Actuated MEMS Wedges," explores the design and fabrication of a MEMS device that would align optical fibers. These fibers would be aligned both laterally and vertically in optical, electro-optical, optoelectronic, and/or photonic devices on integrated circuit chips and similar monolithic device structures. The MEMS device would consist of a pair of oppositely sloped alignment wedges attached to linear actuators that would translate the wedges in the plane of a substrate, causing an optical fiber in contact with the sloping wedge surfaces to undergo various displacements parallel and perpendicular to the plane. These wedges would be fabricated using gray-scale exposure of photoresist material.

The research also has been published in the February 2007 issue of IEEE/ASME Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems (JMEMS).

Morgan currently is a research engineer with the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md. Ghodssi directs the MEMS Sensors and Acutators Laboratory at the University of Maryland.

| View a PDF of the NASA Tech Briefs article | View a PDF of the JMEMS paper |

Published March 16, 2007