Design and fabrication of low-voltage twisting-type thermal actuators for micromirrors

Dong Hyun Kim; Yong Chul Park; Seungho Park; Ohmyoung Kwon; Young Ki Choi; Joon Sik Lee

doi:10.3795/KSME-B.2009.33.10.803

Design and fabrication of low-voltage twisting-type thermal actuators for micromirrors

Dong Hyun Kim, Yong Chul Park, Seungho Park, Ohmyoung Kwon, Young Ki Choi, Joon Sik Lee

School of Mechanical Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Micromirrors have a wide range of applications such as optical switches, laser scanners, and digital projection displays. Due to their low performances and high costs, however, practical applications of micromirrors are quite limited. At present micromirrors demand not only a better design but also a simple fabrication process. In this study a twisting-type micromirror that can be driven by two thermal bimorph actuators bending in opposite directions is designed from electro-thermo-mechanical theories and fabricated through a simple MEMS process. Each actuator consists of SiO₂ and gold thin-film layers. Simplified analytical model has been built to optimize the performance of micromirror. Due to unexpected resistance increase of metal film and alignment mismatch during fabrication process, experimental rotation angles of micromirrors are about 11° at applied voltages less than 0.6V. From numerical simulation and analytical studies, however, the next design can provide rotation angles over 20 ° at the same applied voltage.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	803-810
Number of pages	8
Journal	Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers, B
Volume	33
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3795/KSME-B.2009.33.10.803
Publication status	Published - 2009 Oct

Keywords

Micromirror
Thermal Actuator
Twisting-Type

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Mechanical Engineering

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10.3795/KSME-B.2009.33.10.803

Cite this

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title = "Design and fabrication of low-voltage twisting-type thermal actuators for micromirrors",

abstract = "Micromirrors have a wide range of applications such as optical switches, laser scanners, and digital projection displays. Due to their low performances and high costs, however, practical applications of micromirrors are quite limited. At present micromirrors demand not only a better design but also a simple fabrication process. In this study a twisting-type micromirror that can be driven by two thermal bimorph actuators bending in opposite directions is designed from electro-thermo-mechanical theories and fabricated through a simple MEMS process. Each actuator consists of SiO2 and gold thin-film layers. Simplified analytical model has been built to optimize the performance of micromirror. Due to unexpected resistance increase of metal film and alignment mismatch during fabrication process, experimental rotation angles of micromirrors are about 11° at applied voltages less than 0.6V. From numerical simulation and analytical studies, however, the next design can provide rotation angles over 20 ° at the same applied voltage.",

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AU - Choi, Young Ki

AU - Lee, Joon Sik

PY - 2009/10

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N2 - Micromirrors have a wide range of applications such as optical switches, laser scanners, and digital projection displays. Due to their low performances and high costs, however, practical applications of micromirrors are quite limited. At present micromirrors demand not only a better design but also a simple fabrication process. In this study a twisting-type micromirror that can be driven by two thermal bimorph actuators bending in opposite directions is designed from electro-thermo-mechanical theories and fabricated through a simple MEMS process. Each actuator consists of SiO2 and gold thin-film layers. Simplified analytical model has been built to optimize the performance of micromirror. Due to unexpected resistance increase of metal film and alignment mismatch during fabrication process, experimental rotation angles of micromirrors are about 11° at applied voltages less than 0.6V. From numerical simulation and analytical studies, however, the next design can provide rotation angles over 20 ° at the same applied voltage.

AB - Micromirrors have a wide range of applications such as optical switches, laser scanners, and digital projection displays. Due to their low performances and high costs, however, practical applications of micromirrors are quite limited. At present micromirrors demand not only a better design but also a simple fabrication process. In this study a twisting-type micromirror that can be driven by two thermal bimorph actuators bending in opposite directions is designed from electro-thermo-mechanical theories and fabricated through a simple MEMS process. Each actuator consists of SiO2 and gold thin-film layers. Simplified analytical model has been built to optimize the performance of micromirror. Due to unexpected resistance increase of metal film and alignment mismatch during fabrication process, experimental rotation angles of micromirrors are about 11° at applied voltages less than 0.6V. From numerical simulation and analytical studies, however, the next design can provide rotation angles over 20 ° at the same applied voltage.

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Design and fabrication of low-voltage twisting-type thermal actuators for micromirrors

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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