A novel two axis actuator for high speed large angular rotation

Reports the development of a novel two axis rotary actuator capable of high frequency out-of-plane rotation in two fully independent axes with large angular excursions. Initial results indicate that using the novel suspension and actuation mechanism presented permits large rotations exceeding /spl plusmn/13.5 degrees at rotational speeds exceeding 15 kHz, using excitation voltages below 100 V. The device is fabricated using a combination of surface and bulk micromachining. In this work the actuators are used to rotate single crystal silicon plates of sizes up to 1 mm/sup 2/. The size of such a device is less than 4 mm/sup 2/ making it suitable for a variety of new applications, such as micropositioning systems, inertial systems, microoptical elements, and compact imaging systems.