Optical element having two axes of rotation for use in tightly spaced mirror arrays
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a cradle;
a plate rotatably coupled to said cradle along a first rotational axis, wherein the plate has a footprint that extends outside of a footprint of the cradle;
a frame fixedly attached to a first substrate, wherein said cradle is rotatably coupled to said frame along a second rotational axis;
at least one electrode formed at a first region in a second substrate; and
at least one electrode formed at a second region in the second substrate, wherein the first substrate is attached to the second substrate such that the plate is superposed over the at least one electrode at the first region and the cradle is superposed over the at least one electrode at the second region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rotatable element includes a plate, a plate support, a cradle and a cradle support. The plate is coupled to the cradle via the plate support. The cradle is coupled to a surrounding frame by the cradle support. The plate and cradle are suspended over a cavity so that, in conjunction with the plate support and the cradle support, both the plate and cradle are capable of freely rotating about different axes of rotation when suitably actuated. Since the plate is capable of rotating independently of the cradle, yet also rotates when the cradle is rotated, the plate is rotatable about two axes of rotation. In some cases, the axis of rotation of the plate is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cradle. Since the cradle does not surround the plate, the plates of adjacent rotatable elements can be placed very close to one another (i.e., as close as about 1 micron) to provide, for example, an array of very-closely-spaced mirrors.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a cradle; a plate rotatably coupled to said cradle along a first rotational axis, wherein the plate has a footprint that extends outside of a footprint of the cradle; a frame fixedly attached to a first substrate, wherein said cradle is rotatably coupled to said frame along a second rotational axis; at least one electrode formed at a first region in a second substrate; and at least one electrode formed at a second region in the second substrate, wherein the first substrate is attached to the second substrate such that the plate is superposed over the at least one electrode at the first region and the cradle is superposed over the at least one electrode at the second region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for forming a rotatable element, comprising:
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rotatably coupling, along a first rotational axis, a plate and cradle in a first substrate, wherein said cradle does not surround said plate; rotatably coupling, along a second rotational axis that is perpendicular to said first rotational axis, said cradle to said first substrate; forming at least two electrodes at a first region in a second substrate; forming at least two electrodes at a second region in said second substrate; aligning said first substrate with said second substrate such that said plate is superposed over said two electrodes at said first region and a portion of said cradle is superposed over said two electrodes at said second region; and attaching said first substrate to said second substrate.
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20. An apparatus comprising:
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a cradle; a plate, wherein said plate is rotatably coupled to said cradle along a first rotational axis; a frame, wherein said cradle is rotatably coupled to said frame along a second rotational axis, and wherein said cradle does not entirely surround said plate; and a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein said first electrode and said second electrode; are symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of said first rotational axis; and are disposed close enough to said plate so that under an applied voltage of less than 200 volts, at least one of either said first electrode and said second electrode electrically interact with said plate. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. An apparatus comprising:
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a cradle; a plate, wherein said plate is rotatably coupled to said cradle along a first rotational axis; and a frame, wherein; said cradle is rotatably coupled to said frame along a second rotational axis; said cradle does not surround at least a portion of said plate; said plate and said cradle define a rotatable element; said apparatus comprises an array of rotatable elements; and reflective portions of the rotatable elements in the array form a substantially contiguous segmented mirror.
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Specification