A high-stroke micromirror array was designed, modeled, fabricated and tested. Each pixel in the 4×4 array consists of a self-aligned vertical comb drive actuator that has had a single-crystal silicon mirror successfully bonded to it. Two different bonding technologies were used, photoresist bonding and fusion bonding. The results of each of these bonding methods will be presented. Analytical models combined with CoventorWare^R simulations were used to design these elements that would move up to 10 microns in piston motion with 200V applied. Devices were fabricated according to this design and difference measurements performed with a white-light interferometer demonstrated a displacement of 0.18 microns with 200V applied. Further investigation revealed that fabrication process inaccuracy led to significantly stiffer mechanical springs in the fabricated devices. The increased stiffness of the springs was shown to account for the reduced displacement that was observed.

Date Published: 14 February 2007
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 6467, MEMS Adaptive Optics, 64670U (14 February 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.710894

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6467:
MEMS Adaptive Optics
Scot S. Olivier; Thomas G. Bifano; Joel A. Kubby, Editor(s)