High fill-factor bulk silicon mirrors with reduced effect of mirror edge diffraction
First Claim
1. A MEMS apparatus comprising:
- a base support;
a planar support layer having a support surface;
a plurality of hinges for suspending the support layer relative to the base support for movement about two axes, the hinges being disposed in a different plane from the support layer; and
a bulk element coupled to the support surface and comprising a device layer having an optical surface coupled to the support surface, and at least one edge that is configured to reduce effects of light diffraction along the at least one edge.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for fabricating a MEMS apparatus having a device layer with an optical surface that is supported by a pedestal on a planar support layer that is suspended for movement with respect to a base support by hinge elements disposed in a different plane from the planar support layer. The surface area of the optical surface is maximized with respect to the base support to optimize the fill factor of the optical surface and afford a high passband. The height of the pedestal is selected to position the device layer sufficiently above the base support to afford an unobstructed predetermined angular rotation about each axis. The hinges may be made of thin-film material, fabricated by way of surface micromachining techniques. The hinges are disposed underneath the device layer enabling the optical surface to be maximized so that the entire surface becomes usable (e.g., for optical beam manipulation). The optical surfaces of the devices further include one or more edges that are configured to reduce the effects of diffraction of light incident near the edges.
24 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A MEMS apparatus comprising:
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a base support;
a planar support layer having a support surface;
a plurality of hinges for suspending the support layer relative to the base support for movement about two axes, the hinges being disposed in a different plane from the support layer; and
a bulk element coupled to the support surface and comprising a device layer having an optical surface coupled to the support surface, and at least one edge that is configured to reduce effects of light diffraction along the at least one edge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An optical apparatus comprising:
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a base support; and
a plurality of MEMS devices configured in an array, each MEMS device comprising;
a planar support layer having a support surface;
a plurality of hinges for suspending the support layer relative to the base support for movement about two axes, the hinges being disposed in a different plane from the support layer; and
a bulk element coupled to the support surface and comprising a device layer having an optical surface coupled to the support surface, and at least one edge that is configured to reduce effects of light diffraction along the at least one edge. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification