A 2D scanner by surface and bulk micromachined vertical comb actuators

Abstract

We present the design, fabrication, and demonstration of a fully decoupled 2D gimbal scanner with angular vertical comb (AVC) actuators. The device is realized by combining a foundry surface-micromachining process (MUMPs) with a 3-mask deep-reactive-ion- etching (DRIE) post process. Surface-micromachining provides versatile mechanical design and electrical interconnect while bulk micromachining offers flat micromirrors and high-force actuators. The scanner achieves DC mechanical scanning ranges of /spl plusmn/6.2/spl deg/ (at 55 Vdc) and /spl plusmn/4.1/spl deg/ (at 50 Vdc) for the inner and outer gimbals, respectively. The 1-mm mirror has a radius of curvature of 40 cm.