Microfabricated actuators and their application to optics

Several authors have given overviews of microelectromechanical systems, including microactuators. In our presentation we review some of these results, and provide a brief description of the basic principles of operation, fabrication, and application, of a few selected microactuators (electrostatic and surface tension driven). We present a description of a three- level mechanical polysilicon surface-micromachining technology with a discussion of the advantages of this level of process complexity. This technology is capable of forming complex, batch-fabricated, interconnected, and interactive, microactuated micromechanisms which include optical elements. The inclusion of a third deposited layer of mechanical polysilicon greatly extends the degree of complexity available for micromechanism design. Two examples of microactuators fabricated using this process are provided to illustrate the capabilities and usefulness of the technology. The first actuator is an example of a novel actuation mechanism based on the effect of surface tension at these micro-scale dimensions and of a microstructure within a microstructure. The second is a comb-drive-based microengine which has direct application as a drive and power source for micro optical elements, specifically, micro mirrors and micro shutters. This design converts linear oscillatory motion from electrostatic comb drive actuators into rotational motion via a direct linkage connection. The microengine provides output in the form of a continuously rotating output gear that is capable of delivering drive torque to a micromechanism.