Controllable, continuous and large tilt optical micromirror device integrated with VLSI technologies

The objective of this proposed research program is to develop an integrated technology platform where a micro optical mirror can be tilted continuously over a range most desired by telecom industry. Standard CMOS/BiCMOS processes will be used for the fabrications and novel concepts of micro-scale actuations will be explored. Electrostatic actuation is favored for many MicroElectroMechanicalSystem (MEMS) applications because of its low power consumption. An important property (or limitation) of the electrostatic actuators is their pull-in voltage, beyond which the electrostatic torque overcomes the mechanical torque, and the movable plate snaps abruptly to the fixed electrode plane. Only about 30% of the full tilt range of a typical electrostatic actuator is controllable. One major goal of this project is to increase the controllable tilt of movable plate substantially. It will be achieved using "intelligent" electrodes and hybrid actuation scheme. In another aspect, complexities of optical network component operation require sophisticated electronics operations. The proposed efforts will be based on VLSI platform and an electronic control algorithm will be developed to address the snapping effect of the electrostatic mirror. Supporting circuitry will include power supply, D/A and A/D conversion, data acquisition, signal conditioning, and digital signal processing. The applications for the proposed systems include a variety of display subsystems, bar code scanning, adaptive optics systems, microfluidics and telecommunications. In optical network field, it can be used for products like attenuators, equalizers, multiplexers, cross-connects, data transmitters and optical switches. The integration of optical MEMS and micro-electronics offers enormous potential for not only significant performance and cost improvement, but also opening the doors for many novel applications which are not feasible for discrete components based system.