Microactuated mirrors for beam steering

The design, fabrication, and potential performance of micro- actuated mirrors for beam steering are considered. Micro- actuators are by definition small devices that implement small displacements; they typically function using either electrostatic attraction or thermal expansion and are much smaller and less expensive than voice coil, piezoelectric stack, and related macro-actuators. Mirrors for use with micro-actuators may consist of rigid optically flat plates, continuous deformable membranes of facesheets, or arrays of elements with many possible element shapes, spacings, and displacement patterns. In general, the number of potentially practical micro-actuated mirror designs for beam steering increases as angular range, aperture size, steering speed, optical quality, and optical power requirements decrease.

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