Duduś Anna, Blue Robert, Uttamchandani Deepak
Appl Opt. 2015 Mar 10;54(8):1952-7. doi: 10.1364/AO.54.001952.
We report on the fabrication and characterization of a single-mode fiber variable optical attenuator (VOA) based on a ferrofluid shutter actuated by a magnetic field created by a low voltage electromagnet. We compare the performance of a VOA using oil-based ferrofluid, with one VOA using water-based 12 ferrofluid, and demonstrate broadband optical attenuation of up to 28 dB with polarization dependent 13 loss of 0.85 dB. Our optofluidic VOA has advantages over MEMS-based VOAs such as simple construction and the absence of mechanical moving parts.
我们报告了一种基于由低压电磁铁产生的磁场驱动的铁磁流体光闸的单模光纤可变光衰减器（VOA）的制造与特性。我们比较了使用油基铁磁流体的VOA和使用水基铁磁流体的VOA的性能，并展示了高达28 dB的宽带光衰减以及0.85 dB的偏振相关损耗。我们的光流体VOA相较于基于微机电系统（MEMS）的VOA具有诸如结构简单和不存在机械运动部件等优点。
