MEMS mirror with short vertical comb teeth and long in-plane comb teeth
US7538927B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 13, 2006 |
| Grant date | May 26, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 21, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B26/0841
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A process for constructing a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device includes etching the topside of a wafer to form a first support layer having short stationary comb teeth extending from one or more support pads. The backside of the wafer is etched to form a top layer with a mirror, beam structures extending from the mirror, long rotating comb teeth extending from the beam structures, and long stationary comb teeth extending from stationary pads. The long rotating comb teeth are interdigitated in-plane with the long stationary comb teeth, and the long rotating comb teeth are interdigitated out-of-plane at their tips with the short stationary comb teeth. Asymmetry in the overlap between the long rotating comb teeth and the short stationary comb teeth allows the rotational direction of the mirror to be determined from capacitance measurements. Furthermore, the short stationary comb teeth can be used to initiate oscillation of the mirror.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.