Dual-axis mirror scanners fabricated with 3D printing

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate two designs of low-cost mirror scanners. The main structures are 3D-printed with PLA (polylactic acid) as the material. A 20 mm  20 mm aluminum-coated silicon chip is attached on the top of the 3Dprinted piece and functions as the mirror. Miniature permanent magnets are installed on the back of the mirror, and the mirror can then be actuated by electromagnets. The umbrella-like scanner achieves resonant optical scan ranges of 4.8 and 4.5 degrees in two orthogonal directions, respectively. On the other hand, the X-shape scanner reaches 12.2 and 4.6 degrees (optical) for the x- and y-scans at the corresponding resonant frequencies (103 Hz and 128 Hz), respectively.