Moving coil motor and implementations in MEMS based optical switches
First Claim
1. A moving coil motor, comprising:
- a fixed frame;
a movable member supported by the fixed frame for movement in at least one degree of freedom with respect to a nominal plane;
a magnet means for creating a generally axisymmetrical magnetic field having a magnetic axis substantially orthogonal to the nominal plane of the movable member;
at least one electrically conductive element on the movable member, positioned about the magnetic axis and configured such that current flow through the electrically conductive element interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet means to create Lorentz forces to move the movable member in one or more degrees of freedom.
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Abstract
A moving coil motor has an axisymmetric magnetic field applied to the drive coils on the movable member of the motor. The movable member is suspended by springs. The moving coil motor may be configured in a MEMS format, with the movable member and its suspension springs fabricated from a mono-crystalline substance to improve structural integrity. MEMS based moving coil motors may be configured in an array. Sensors are provided to detect the relative spatial positions of the movable member. The movable member may include several tiers. In one application, the moving coil motor may be configured to support and drive a mirror surface on the movable member to form a galvanometer, optical switch, or other optical component. Singular moving coil motors may be configured in an optical cavity to facilitate the tuning of specific wavelengths while a number of moving coil motors may be configured to form an array of optical switches to facilitate switching in a multi-channel optical network.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A moving coil motor, comprising:
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a fixed frame;
a movable member supported by the fixed frame for movement in at least one degree of freedom with respect to a nominal plane;
a magnet means for creating a generally axisymmetrical magnetic field having a magnetic axis substantially orthogonal to the nominal plane of the movable member;
at least one electrically conductive element on the movable member, positioned about the magnetic axis and configured such that current flow through the electrically conductive element interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet means to create Lorentz forces to move the movable member in one or more degrees of freedom. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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38. An array of moving coil motors, comprising:
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a fixed frame;
a plurality of moving coil motors, each comprising;
(a) a movable member supported by the fixed frame for movement in at least one degree of freedom with respect to a nominal plane;
(b) a magnet means for creating a generally axisymmetrical magnetic field having a magnetic axis substantially orthogonal to the nominal plane of the movable member;
(c) a plurality of electrical conductive elements on the movable member, positioned about the magnetic axis and configured such that current flow through the electrical conductive elements interacts with the magnetic field of the magnet means to create Lorentz forces to move the movable member in one or more degrees of freedom.
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Specification