Torsional micro-mechanical mirror system
First Claim
1. A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
- a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising at least one torsional spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force directly to the torsional mirror support assembly to torsionally drive the torsional mirror support assembly, whereby torsional motion of the torsional mirror support assembly causes rotational motion of the mirror assembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system includes a mirror assembly rotatably supported by a torsional mirror support assembly for rotational movement over and within a cavity in a base. The cavity is sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly. The mirror assembly includes a support structure for supporting a reflective layer. The support structure is coplanar with and formed from the same wafer as the base. The torsional mirror support assembly includes at least one torsion spring formed of an electroplated metal. An actuator assembly is operative to apply a driving force to torsionally drive the torsional mirror support assembly, whereby torsional motion of the torsional mirror support assembly causes rotational motion of the mirror assembly. In another embodiment, a magnetic actuator assembly is provided to drive the mirror assembly. Other actuator assemblies are operative to push on the mirror assembly or provide electrodes spaced across the gap between the mirror assembly and the base. A process for fabricating the torsional micro-mirror is provided. The torsional micro-mirror is useful in various applications such as in biaxial scanner or video display systems.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising at least one torsional spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force directly to the torsional mirror support assembly to torsionally drive the torsional mirror support assembly, whereby torsional motion of the torsional mirror support assembly causes rotational motion of the mirror assembly. - 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, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising at least one torsional spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force to torsionally drive the torsional mirror support assembly, whereby torsional motion of the torsional mirror support assembly causes rotational motion of the mirror assembly, the actuator assembly further comprising;
a portion of the spring disposed over and spaced from a surface of the base, the portion comprising a first drive plate;
a second drive plate supported on the base in spaced relation from the first drive plate to define a capacitive gap between the first drive plate and the second drive plate; and
a drive circuit in electrical communication with the first and second drive plates and operative to apply an electrostatic force between the first drive plate and the second drive plate. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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39. A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising at least one torsional spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force to torsionally drive the torsional mirror support assembly, wherein the actuator assembly comprises a movable capacitor plate supported by the base to push on the torsional mirror support assembly in response to an actuation signal from the actuator assembly.
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40. A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising at least one torsional spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection;
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force to torsionally drive the torsional mirror support assembly, whereby torsional motion of the torsional mirror support assembly causes rotational motion of the mirror assembly; and
a damping mechanism for the torsional mirror support assembly. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein and a surface defining a plane;
a mirror assembly;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising at least one torsional spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement about a rotational axis over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force to rotatably drive the mirror assembly, the actuator assembly comprising a first electrode supported on an edge of the mirror parallel to the rotational axis, and a second electrode supported on the edge of the cavity in the base parallel to the rotational axis in spaced relation from the first electrode to define a capacitive gap between the first electrode and the second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode lying in the plane defined by the surface of the base when no driving force is applied to drive the mirror assembly.
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47. A torsional micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising at least one torsional spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force to rotatably drive the mirror assembly, the actuator assembly comprising a movable capacitor plate supported on the base to push on the mirror assembly in response to an actuation signal from the actuator assembly.
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48. A cantilevered micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base formed of a substrate material and having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly formed of the substrate material;
a cantilevered mirror support assembly comprising at least one cantilever spring supporting the mirror assembly for rotational movement over the cavity, the cantilever spring including an electrically conductive path from the base to the mirror assembly; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force to rotate the mirror assembly. - View Dependent Claims (49)
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50. A scanning torsional micro-mechanical mirror display device comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly having a reflective layer;
a torsional mirror support assembly comprising a gimballed structure comprising a support frame rotatably supported with respect to the base by a set of collinear torsion springs, the support frame having an opening therein over the cavity in the base, a further set of collinear torsion springs orthogonal to the set of torsion springs and mounted on the rotatable support frame to support the mirror assembly for rotational movement within the opening and over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection;
an actuator assembly comprising;
a magnetic driving assembly comprising an electromagnetic coil operative in cooperation with magnetic material attached to the rotatable support frame to apply a magnetic driving force to torsionally drive the set of torsion springs to rotatably drive the support frame, and an electrostatic driving assembly operative to apply an electrostatic driving force to torsionally drive the further set of torsion springs to rotatably drive the mirror assembly;
a damping mechanism disposed to dampen the support frame; and
a packaging containing the base, the mirror assembly, the torsional mirror support assembly, and the actuator assembly under vacuum. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A micro-mechanical mirror system comprising:
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a base having a cavity formed therein;
a mirror assembly;
a mirror support assembly comprising two pairs of cantilever springs disposed on opposite sides of the mirror assembly, the springs of each pair offset from either side of a centerline of the mirror assembly, the springs capable of bending motion, to support the mirror assembly for rotational movement about the centerline over and within the cavity, the cavity sized sufficiently to allow unimpeded rotation of the mirror assembly to a preselected maximum angle of deflection, the springs further formed of a material to comprise electrically conducting paths to the mirror assembly; and
an actuator assembly operative to apply a driving force alternately to each spring of the pairs of spring to drive the mirror support assembly, whereby alternate bending motion of the springs of each pair of springs causes rotational motion of the mirror assembly about the centerline.
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Specification