Flexible mirror micromachined in silicon
Abstract
An electrostatically controlled flexible mirror has been fabricated on a silicon chip by means of bulk micromachining. The mirror has a 10.5 mm \times 10.5 mm square aperture and consists of a 0.5- mu m-thick tensile-stressed silicon-nitride diaphragm coated with a 0.2- mu m-thick reflective aluminum layer. The reflecting surface is initially plane with a mean-square deviation of approximately lambda /8 for lambda = 633 nm. The shape of the reflecting surface is controlled electrostatically by an array of integrated actuators. Good initial optical quality and the possibility of electrostatic control of the reflecting surface make the on-chip mirror useful for various electro-optical applications.
- Publication:
-
Applied Optics
- Pub Date:
- June 1995
- DOI:
- 10.1364/AO.34.002968
- Bibcode:
- 1995ApOpt..34.2968V
- Keywords:
-
- MIRRORS;
- SILICON;
- OPTICAL FABRICATION