Torsion-mirror optical actuators with compound driving structures

Abstract

A new kind of torsion-mirror optical actuators with compound driving structures is reported. The advanced compound driving structures are made up of plate-electrode couple drives and vertical comb drives, and are proved experimentally to be able to actuate mirrors to achieve not only large-range continuous rotation but also 90 o rotation. A set of surfaceand-bulk-mixed-silicon-micromachining process has been developed to manufacture the new torsion-mirror optical actuators in SOI wafers. In the processing, the comb fingers of about 180 m in depth are produced. A synthetic coupling-loss model for the coupling system composed of the mirrors and the input and output fiber ends is obtained when the torsion-mirror actuators are brought into use as optical switches or attenuators, etc. for fiber communication applications.