Microelectromechanical system with stiff coupling
First Claim
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1. A microelectromechanical system that comprises:
- a substrate;
a lever movably interconnected with said substrate at a first location and comprising a first free lever end that is displaced from said first location and moveable relative to said substrate;
an actuator assembly interconnected with said substrate for movement along a first path; and
an elongate coupling comprising a first coupling end interconnected with said actuator assembly and a second coupling end interconnected with said lever, wherein said actuator assembly generates an actuation force to move said first free lever end relative to said substrate, respectively, by a movement of said actuator assembly along said first path, wherein a buckle strength of said elongate coupling between said first and second coupling ends is greater than a maximum magnitude of a component of said actuation force that is along said first path.
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Abstract
A microelectromechanical system is disclosed that uses a stiff tether between an actuator assembly and a lever that is interconnected with an appropriate substrate such that a first end of the lever may move relative to the substrate, depending upon the direction of motion of the actuator assembly. Any appropriate load may be interconnected with the lever, including a mirror for any optical application.
14 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A microelectromechanical system that comprises:
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a substrate;
a lever movably interconnected with said substrate at a first location and comprising a first free lever end that is displaced from said first location and moveable relative to said substrate;
an actuator assembly interconnected with said substrate for movement along a first path; and
an elongate coupling comprising a first coupling end interconnected with said actuator assembly and a second coupling end interconnected with said lever, wherein said actuator assembly generates an actuation force to move said first free lever end relative to said substrate, respectively, by a movement of said actuator assembly along said first path, wherein a buckle strength of said elongate coupling between said first and second coupling ends is greater than a maximum magnitude of a component of said actuation force that is along said first path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A microelectromechanical system that comprises:
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a substrate;
a lever comprising movably interconnected with said substrate at a first location and a first fee lever end that is moveable at least generally away from said substrate;
an actuator assembly interconnected with said substrate for movement along a first path; and
an elongate coupling comprising a first coupling end attached to said actuator assembly and a second coupling end attached to said lever, wherein said elongate coupling comprises first and second structural layers that are disposed in spaced relation and rigidly interconnected at a plurality of locations between said first and second coupling ends, and wherein said actuator generates an actuation force to move said first free lever end relative to said substrate by a movement of said actuator assembly along said first path. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26)
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22. A system, as claimed in claim 22, wherein:
a speed at which said first free lever end moves relative to said substrate by said actuator assembly exerting said actuation force on said elongate coupling is at least substantially solely controlled by external forces that are exerted on said elongate coupling. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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27. A method for operating a microelectromechanical system that is fabricated using a substrate and that comprises an elongate coupling microstructure interconnected with a lever microstructure, wherein said elongate coupling microstructure comprises first and second coupling ends, said method comprising the steps of:
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accelerating said elongate coupling microstructure;
compressing said elongate coupling microstructure between said first and second coupling ends during at least a portion of said accelerating step;
moving said first lever end relative to said substrate in response to said accelerating step, wherein said moving step is at least substantially solely controlled by external forces that are exerted on said elongate coupling during said accelerating step. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification