ABSTRACT
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In the late 1990s and early 2000, signi„cant progress in the optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, alongside with the development of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems, has been made in the telecommunication industry. Enormous investments have been made on optical MEMS technology as it has been recognized to be an indispensable technology meant to ful„ll the missing link that can help connect other existing technologies to form an alloptical communication network. Many crucial MEMS-based components such as variable optical attenuator (VOA), optical switch, tunable switch, and recon„gurable optical add/drop multiplexer for telecommunication applications have been demonstrated and commercialized. Comprehensive review articles have been made [1-5], while topical reviews on optical switches [6], VOA [7], and tunable lasers [8] have been reported.
