Optical mirror system with multi-axis rotational control
First Claim
1. An optical mirror system comprising:
- an optical surface assembly; and
at least one leg assembly coupled to the optical surface assembly for supporting the optical surface above a substrate.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical mirror system with multi-axis rotational control is disclosed. The mirror system includes an optical surface assembly, and at least one leg assembly coupled to the optical surface assembly. The at least one leg assembly supports the optical surface above a substrate. A system and method in accordance with the present invention can operate with many different actuator mechanisms, including but not limited to, electrostatic, thermal, piezoelectric, and magnetic. An optical mirror system in accordance with the present invention accommodates large mirrors and rotation angles. Scanning mirrors can be made with this technique using standard surface-micromachining processes, or a deep RIE etch process. A device in accordance with the present invention meets the requirements for a directly scalable, high port count optical switch, utilizing a two mirror per optical I/O port configuration. An optical mirror in accordance with the present invention can be utilized in, but is not limited to, the following applications: optical add-drop multiplexers, wavelength routers, free-space optical interconnects, chip-level optical I/O, optical scanning displays, optical scanner (bar-codes, micro cameras), optical storage read/write heads, laser printers, medical replacement for glasses (incorporated with adaptive optics), medical diagnostic equipment, optical scanning for security applications.
-
Citations
16 Claims
-
1. An optical mirror system comprising:
-
an optical surface assembly; and
at least one leg assembly coupled to the optical surface assembly for supporting the optical surface above a substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. An optical mirror system comprising:
-
an optical surface; and
a plurality of leg assemblies coupled to the optical surface for supporting the optical surface above a substrate, wherein each of the leg assemblies includes a leg portion, a connector coupled to the leg portion, and the optical surface and an anchor coupled to the leg portion for coupling the leg portion to the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
Specification