Abstract

In this paper I propose and analyse IO devices in which nonlinearity and bistability are caused by the radiation forces of the evanescent field of the guided modes exerted on an 'effective-index-shifting' element E, which is a micromachined, light-weight, movable, non-absorbing dielectric plate separated from the waveguide by a very small gap. The resulting nanometer displacements of this element E provide the nonlinearity of the effective refractive index N of the guided mode.

© 1989 Optical Society of America