The authors describe the development of a new type of micromachined device designed for use in correcting optical aberrations. A nine-element continuous deformable mirror was fabricated using surface micromachining. The electromechanical behavior of the deformable mirror was measured. A finite-difference model for predicting the mirror deflections was developed. In addition, novel fabrication techniques were developed to permit the production of nearly planar mirror surfaces.
A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microvalve array for fluid flow control is described. The device consists of a parallel array of surface-micromachined binary microvalves working cooperatively to achieve precision flow control on a macroscopic level. Flow rate across the microvalve array is proportional to the number of microvalves open, yielding a scalable high-precision fluidic control system. Device design and fabrication, using a one-level polycrystalline silicon surface-micromachining process combined with a single anisotropic bulk etching process are detailed. Performance measurements on fabricated devices confirm feasibility of the fluidic control concept and robustness of the electromechanical design. Air-flow rates of 150 ml/min for a pressure differential of 10 kPa were demonstrated. Linear flow control was achieved over a wide range of operating flow rates. A continuum fluidic model based on incompressible low Reynolds number flow theory was implemented using a finitedifference approximation. The model accurately predicted the effect of microvalve diaphragm compliance on flow rate. Excellent agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental data was obtained over the entire range of flow conditions tested experimentally. [351]
A silicon-based, surface micromachined, deformable mirror device for optical applications requiring phase modulation, including adaptive optics and pattern recognition systems is described. The mirror will be supported on a massively parallel system of electrostatically controlled, interconnected microactuators that can be coordinated to achieve precise actuation and control at a macroscopic level. Several generations of individual actuators as well as parallel arrays of actuators with segmented/continuous mirrors have been designed, fabricated, and tested. Deflection characteristics and pull-in behavior of the actuators have been closely studied. Devices have been characterized with regard to yield, repeatability, and frequency response. An electromechanical model of the system has been simulated numerically using the shooting method, and good correlation with experimental results has been obtained. A twenty-channel parallel control scheme has been developed and implemented on a segmented mirror array.
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