Electrostatically-controlled cantilever apparatus for continuous tuning of the resonance wavelength of a fabry-perot cavity

• US 5,629,951 A
• Filed: 10/13/1995
• Issued: 05/13/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Inventors: Vail, Edward C., Chang-Hasnain, Constance J., Wu, Marianne S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bovernick, Rodney B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wise, Robert E.
• Application Number:
  US08/542,057
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: 372/92, 372/96, 372/20, 372/32, 372/107
• US Class Current: 372/20
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/001 based on interference in an adjustable optical cavity interference filters G02B5/28; devices or arrangements using multiple reflections in spectrometry or monochromators G01J3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/02 for controlling the intensity of light G02B26/004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0841 the reflecting element being moved or deformed by electrostatic means
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/105 by controlling the mutual position or the reflecting properties of the reflectors of the cavity , e.g. by controlling the cavity lengthH01S3/10076, H01S3/13 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/02325 Mechanically integrated components on mount members or optical micro-benches
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/141 using a wavelength selective device, e.g. a grating or etalon H01S5/146 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/18366 Membrane DBR, i.e. a movable DBR on top of the VCSEL

Abstract

An electrostatically controlled cantilever apparatus for continuous tuning of the resonance wavelength of a Fabry-Perot cavity is disclosed. A resonant cavity is formed between two distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirrors. The top reflector is composed of a movable top DBR supported in a freely suspended cantilever, a variable-thickness air spacer layer and a fixed DBR. The bottom reflector is fixed on the substrate. By applying a tuning voltage to create electrostatic attraction, the cantilever may be deflected towards the substrate, thereby changing the thickness of the air spacer layer and consequently the resonant wavelength of the Fabry-Perot cavity.

Claims

1. A cantilever apparatus for tuning a resonance wavelength of a Fabry-Perot cavity, said Fabry-Perot cavity comprising a bottom reflecting means and a top reflecting means, said cantilever apparatus comprising:

a) an electrically responsive substrate;

b) a support block positioned on said electrically responsive substrate;

c) a cantilever structure comprising a base section resting on said support block, a deformable section extending above said electrically responsive substrate and creating an air gap between said deformable section and said electrically responsive substrate, and an active head positioned at a predetermined location on said deformable section and comprising at least a portion of said top reflecting means;

d) an electrical tuning contact disposed on said cantilever structure for applying a first tuning voltage V_t1 to produce a vertical electrostatic force F_d between said electrical tuning contact and said electrically responsive substrate, thereby altering the size of said air gap and tuning said resonant wavelength.

2. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrical tuning contact covers said deformable section and said active head.

3. The cantilever apparatus of claim 2 wherein said deformable section is an arm and said active head is located at the free end of said arm.

4. The cantilever apparatus of claim 2 wherein said deformable section comprises a substantially rectangular circumference with a central passage and an in-reaching portion projecting from said substantially rectangular circumference opposite said base section into said central passage, and wherein said active head is located on said in-reaching portion.

5. The cantilever apparatus of claim 2 wherein said deformable section comprises a substantially rectangular circumference with a central passage, an in-reaching portion projecting from said substantially rectangular circumference opposite said base section into said central passage, and an out-reaching portion projecting from said substantially rectangular circumference opposite said in-reaching portion and away from said central passage, and wherein said active head is located on said out-reaching portion.

6. The cantilever apparatus of claim 5 further comprising at least one tuning head located on said in-reaching portion and covered with said electrical tuning contact.

7. The cantilever apparatus of claim 2 wherein said deformable section comprises a spiral and said active head is located at the free end of said spiral.

8. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrical tuning contact is patterned to form at least two electrically isolated tuning regions.

9. The cantilever apparatus of claim 8 wherein said deformable section is an arm and said active head is located at the free end of said arm, and wherein a first tuning region extends along said arm and terminates before said active head, and a second tuning region extends along said arm and covers said active head.

10. The cantilever apparatus of claim 8 wherein said deformable section comprises a substantially rectangular circumference with a central passage, an in-reaching portion projecting from said substantially rectangular circumference opposite said base section into said central passage, and an out-reaching portion projecting from said substantially rectangular circumference opposite said in-reaching portion and away from said central passage, and wherein said active head is located on said out-reaching portion.

11. The cantilever apparatus of claim 10 further comprising at least one tuning head located on said in-reaching portion and covered with one of said at least one tuning regions.

12. The cantilever apparatus of claim 10 wherein said active head is located at the end of said out-reaching portion and a tuning head is located at the end of said in-reaching portion, and wherein said tuning head is covered with one of said at least one tuning regions different from the tuning region covering said active head.

13. The cantilever apparatus of claim 12 wherein said out-reaching portion is approximately one third the length of said substantially rectangular circumference and said out-reaching portion is one tenth the length of said in-reaching portion.

14. The cantilever apparatus of claim 8 wherein said deformable section comprises a spiral and said active head is located at the free end of said spiral.

15. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrically responsive substrate is patterned substantially at its surface to form at least two electrically isolated responsive zones.

16. The cantilever apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a tuning head located on said deformable portion and two responsive zones;

a first responsive zone located underneath said active head and a second responsive zone located underneath said tuning head.

17. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrically responsive substrate is doped with a positive charge carrier and said electrical tuning contact is doped with a negative charge carrier, thereby producing a pn-junction between said electrically responsive substrate and said electrical tuning contact.

18. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said electrically responsive substrate is doped with a negative charge carrier and said electrical tuning contact is doped with a positive charge carrier, thereby producing a pn-junction between said electrically responsive substrate and said electrical tuning contact.

19. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a top electrode positioned above said cantilever structure for applying a second tuning voltage V_t2 to produce a vertical electrostatic force F_u between said electrical contact and said top electrode thereby altering the size of said air gap and tuning said resonant wavelength.

20. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said deformable section is provided with notches for facilitating the bending of said deformable section.

21. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said deformable section is provided with cut-outs for facilitating the bending of said deformable section.

22. The cantilever apparatus of claim 1 wherein said deformable section comprises a plurality of interspaced parallel arms.

23. A method for tuning a resonance wavelength of a Fabry-Perot cavity using a cantilever structure comprising a base section, a deformable section, and an active head, said Fabry-Perot cavity comprising a bottom reflecting means and a top reflecting means, said method comprising the steps of:

a) positioning a support block on an electrically responsive substrate containing said Fabry-Perot cavity;

b) producing said cantilever structure on said support block such that said active head contains at least a portion of said top reflecting means and is positioned above said Fabry-Perot cavity, and said deformable section extends above said electrically responsive substrate and creates an air gap between said deformable section and said electrically responsive substrate;

c) disposing an electrical tuning contact on said cantilever structure;

d) applying a first tuning voltage V_t1 to produce a vertical electrostatic force F_d between said electrical tuning contact and said electrically responsive substrate, thereby altering the size of said air gap and tuning said resonant wavelength.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said Fabry-Perot cavity is used for determining the wavelength of light incident on said Fabry-Perot cavity.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said Fabry-Perot cavity is used as a lasing cavity.