Three dimensional electrostatic actuators for tunable optical micro cavities

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. A. Physical. Vol. 161; no. 1; pp. 191 - 198
• Main Authors: Srinivasan, P., Gollasch, C.O., Kraft, M.
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.06.2010; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Actuators; Bonding; Devices; Electrical & electronics engineering; Electrostatic; Electrostatics; Engineering, computing & technology; Holes; Ingénierie électrique & électronique; Ingénierie, informatique & technologie; Microactuator; Micromachining; Multilayers; Optical tuning and Micromirrors; Steady state; Optical tuning and Micromirrors; Microactuator; Electrostatic
• ISSN: 0924-4247; 1873-3069; 1873-3069
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sna.2010.05.012

The ability to fabricate micro scale structures with three dimensional features can augment the design opportunities to realise novel devices. This paper discusses the theoretical and experimental performance of a three dimensional Micro-Opto-Electromechanical systems (MOEMS) device which consists of a planar micro mirror positioned in the in-plane and out-of-plane directions by electrostatic actuators. The actuator consists of a mechanically compliant structure micromachined on a bonded Si–Glass substrate. Experimental investigation of the steady state performance of the actuator revealed that the planar mirror can be actuated about ∼3–6 μm in the in-plane direction at 90 Vdc and about ∼2 μm in the out-of-plane direction at 25 Vdc respectively. The device was found to be dynamically stable for any stray ambient excitations <1.6 kHz in air. The suitability of the device for misalignment compensation in stacked multi-layers is discussed; this will enable for realising tunable optical micro cavities for atom detection.