I. Introduction
Microoptoelectromechanical Systems (MOEMS) are now playing an important role in many applications especially in the field of sensors and optical communication [1], [2]. In their preliminary versions, optical MEMS followed the existing volume optics configurations, to build a microoptical system on a chip. In such configurations, optical propagation is usually carried out in free space, where the modeling and simulation for the optical and electromechanical parts is usually done separately. This may be a suitable approach when the optical function is fairly simple such as the redirection of optical beams using micromirrors. However, when building more complex optical functions such as interference power splitters, waveguide switches, add/drop multiplexers, or tunable filters [3]–[7], modeling of the coupled optomechanical behavior is more critical, and required to enhance design efficiency, especially when guided wave structures are involved. Guided wave optical simulators are now available in the form of wide-spectrum simulators like the beam propagation method (BPM) [8], [9] and the radiation spectrum method (RSM) [10]. However, these simulators are usually available in all-optical simulation environments. On the other hand, hardware description languages and macromodeling have enriched the electrical simulation environment with models for electrical, mechanical, thermal, and optical components. Such a well-established environment is now the foundation for microsystems simulations. For example, MEMS transducers [11], [12], accelerometers [13], and pressure sensors [14] have been modeled and simulated using SPICE equivalent circuits, and HDL-A
Hardware description language for analogue and mixed signal applications; Mentor Graphics.
, where MEMS physical parameters are extracted from field simulators to generate compact behavioral models [13], [14].