Dynamic MEMS-based photonic bandgap filter

This paper presents the development of an integrated fast filtering system using a photonic band gap (PBG) filter and a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuator. The actuator varies the air-gap thickness between two PBG stacks to vary the optical transmission of the stack. The switch is a fast, reliable, electrically driven filter that can be fully integrated with current focal plane array technologies. The filter has been developed to have "on" and "off" states in the 3-5-/spl mu/m wavelength range. The device can be easily tailored for use in other wavebands. It can be stacked to increase the on/off contrast. This MEMS/PBG filter can be hybridized into existing optical system designs, and it can also be integrated into new optical system designs.