Low-Voltage Driven MEMS VOA Using Torsional Attenuation Mechanism Based on Piezoelectric Beam Actuators

A gold-coated silicon mirror (5 mm × 5 mm) driven by a piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O
₃
(PZT) beam with 1 × 10 cantilever actuators has been demonstrated for variable optical attenuator application. A dual-core-fiber collimator is aligned perpendicularly to the mirror in a three-dimensional light attenuation arrangement. Torsional attenuation based on the difference in the dc biasing voltage applied to the ten piezoelectric cantilevers was investigated. The attenuation curve under dc bias follows that of a Gaussian distribution, with dynamic attenuation range of 40 dB achieved at 1.8 V.