Fabrication of Freestanding SiO $_{2}$-Membrane Systems for Thermo-Optic Adjusting of SOI Photonic Wires

This work describes the design and fabrication of an electrostatically deflectable SiO
₂
-membrane system with low-loss silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonic wires. The photonic wires have been tuned thermo-optically and elasto-optically. A 10-mW thermo-optic switch is presented.