Controllable, continuous and large tilt optical micromirror device integrated with VLSI technologies

这项拟议的研究计划的目标是开发一种集成技术平台，在该平台上，微光学反射镜可以在电信行业最希望的范围内连续倾斜。将使用标准的CMOS/BiCMOS工艺进行制造，并将探索微尺度致动的新概念。因此，静电驱动因其低功耗而受到许多微电子机械系统(MEMS)应用的青睐。静电执行器的一个重要特性(或限制)是其吸合电压，超过该电压时，静电力矩会克服机械力矩，动板会突然卡在固定电极面上。在典型的静电作动器的全倾斜范围中，只有大约30%是可控的。该项目的一个主要目标是大幅增加可移动平板的可控倾斜度。它将使用“智能”电极和混合驱动方案来实现。另一方面，光网络组件操作的复杂性需要复杂的电子操作。拟议的工作将基于VLSI平台，并将开发一种电子控制算法来解决静电镜的咬合效应。配套电路将包括电源、D/A和A/D转换、数据采集、信号调理和数字信号处理。据介绍，拟议系统的应用包括各种显示子系统、条形码扫描、自适应光学系统、微流体和电信。在光网络领域，它可用于衰减器、均衡器、复用器、交叉连接、数据发送器和光开关等产品。光学MEMS和微电子技术的结合不仅为显著提高性能和成本提供了巨大的潜力，而且为许多新的应用打开了大门，而这些应用对于基于分立元件的系统来说是不可行的。

The objective of this proposed research program is to develop an integrated technology platform where a micro optical mirror can be tilted continuously over a range most desired by telecom industry. Standard CMOS/BiCMOS processes will be used for the fabrications and novel concepts of micro-scale actuations will be explored.      Electrostatic actuation is favored for many MicroElectroMechanicalSystem (MEMS) applications because of its low power consumption. An important property (or limitation) of the electrostatic actuators is their pull-in voltage, beyond which the electrostatic torque overcomes the mechanical torque, and the movable plate snaps abruptly to the fixed electrode plane. Only about 30% of the full tilt range of a typical electrostatic actuator is controllable. One major goal of this project is to increase the controllable tilt of movable plate substantially. It will be achieved using "intelligent" electrodes and hybrid actuation scheme.      In another aspect, complexities of optical network component operation require sophisticated electronics operations. The proposed efforts will be based on VLSI platform and an electronic control algorithm will be developed to address the snapping effect of the electrostatic mirror. Supporting circuitry will include power supply, D/A and A/D conversion, data acquisition, signal conditioning, and digital signal processing.         The applications for the proposed systems include a variety of display subsystems, bar code scanning, adaptive optics systems, microfluidics and telecommunications. In optical network field, it can be used for products like attenuators, equalizers, multiplexers, cross-connects, data transmitters and optical switches. The integration of optical MEMS and micro-electronics offers enormous potential for not only significant performance and cost improvement, but also opening the doors for many novel applications which are not feasible for discrete components based system.