Low-voltage electromechanical device including a tiltable microplatform, method of tilting same, array of such devices and method of setting dimple-to-substrate spacing
First Claim
1. A low-voltage electromechanical device comprising:
- a substrate having an aperture;
a microplatform;
a pivotable support structure coupled to the microplatform to suspend the microplatform over the aperture and to tilt the microplatform; and
a microactuator anchored on the substrate to pivot the support structure in response to an electrical signal to thereby tilt the microplatform over the aperture.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A low-voltage electromechanical device including a tiltable microplatform, method of tilting same and array of such devices are provided. The tiltable or steerable microplatform utilizes a bent-beam actuator to achieve large tilting angles with low actuation voltages. Thin beams of the actuator are bent in such a way as to cause the microplatform to pivot around a dimple support that generates a torsional force leading to angular motion in suspension beams attached perpendicular to the thin beams and, in turn, leading to angular or tilting motion in the suspended microplatform. Some of the key features include (1) the low-voltage bent-beam actuator; (2) a dimple-supported microplatform with a hole underneath in the substrate to allow light to pass through and to allow unhindered tilting of the microplatform; and (3) a method for constructing a microprism on the tiltable transparent microplatform for color dispersion purposes in an adaptive vision system.
11 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A low-voltage electromechanical device comprising:
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a substrate having an aperture;
a microplatform;
a pivotable support structure coupled to the microplatform to suspend the microplatform over the aperture and to tilt the microplatform; and
a microactuator anchored on the substrate to pivot the support structure in response to an electrical signal to thereby tilt the microplatform over the aperture. - 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)
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24. A method for tilting a microplatform suspended over an aperture formed in a substrate by a pivotable support structure coupled to the microplatform, the method comprising:
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providing a pair of bendable actuation beams on the substrate; and
forcing the actuation beams to bend so that the actuation beams pivot the support structure to thereby tilt the microplatform over the aperture. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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26. An array of low-voltage electromechanical devices, the array comprising:
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a substrate having a plurality of apertures;
a plurality of microplatforms;
a pivotable support structure coupled to each of the microplatforms to suspend the microplatforms over their respective apertures and to tilt the microplatforms; and
a plurality of microactuators anchored to the substrate to pivot the support structures in response to at least one electrical signal to thereby tilt the microplatforms over their respective apertures. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of setting a dimple-to-substrate spacing between dimples and a substrate, the method comprising:
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forming a first oxide layer on a substrate;
forming vias into the first oxide layer corresponding to dimple locations; and
forming a second oxide layer on the first oxide layer after the step of forming the vias to set the dimple-to-substrate spacing.
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Specification