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Micromachines
Special Issues
Optical Microsystems
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Optical Microsystems

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2015) | Viewed by 44166

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Franck Chollet

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute FEMTO-ST, Université Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, 25030 Besançon, France
Interests: microfabrication; microfluidics; lab-on-chip; integrated optics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The turn of the millennium witnessed an unprecedented investment in optical MEMS R&D for telecommunications. Unfortunately, the burst of the Internet bubble seemed to undercut enthusiasm for such research. However, the potential applications of optical MEMS technology go well beyond telecommunications. For example, Texas Instruments produced a highly successful DMD that powers new digital movie theatres all over the globe and scores of portable video projectors. Optical MEMS technology has gone much further than that in the last 15 years. Now, applications range from biomedical sensing to the miniaturization of optical instruments. The technology has passed by micro-opto-fluidics and adaptive optics.

The application of microfabrication technology to optics is actually very natural for a few reasons. First, as part of MEMS’s standard features, the relevant wavelengths of light are in the µm range. Consequently, the micro-forces generated by micro-actuators have no difficulty in acting on massless photons. Also, there are no other generic paths for bulk optical systems miniaturization.

This Special Issue seeks reviews, regular research papers, and short communications concerning: (i) novel optical MEMS, particularly with applications in yet unexplored fields and (ii) new microfabrication techniques for optical MEMS.

Prof. Dr. Franck Chollet
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

  • Optical MEMS
  • MOEMS
  • micro-optics
  • microfabrication

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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3615 KiB  
Article
A Fast, Large-Stroke Electrothermal MEMS Mirror Based on Cu/W Bimorph
by Xiaoyang Zhang, Liang Zhou and Huikai Xie
Micromachines 2015, 6(12), 1876-1889; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi6121460 - 02 Dec 2015
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 10133
Abstract
This paper reports a large-range electrothermal bimorph microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror with fast thermal response. The actuator of the MEMS mirror is made of three segments of Cu/W bimorphs for lateral shift cancelation and two segments of multimorph beams for obtaining large vertical [...] Read more.
This paper reports a large-range electrothermal bimorph microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror with fast thermal response. The actuator of the MEMS mirror is made of three segments of Cu/W bimorphs for lateral shift cancelation and two segments of multimorph beams for obtaining large vertical displacement from the angular motion of the bimorphs. The W layer is also used as the embedded heater. The silicon underneath the entire actuator is completely removed using a unique backside deep-reactive-ion-etching DRIE release process, leading to improved thermal response speed and front-side mirror surface protection. This MEMS mirror can perform both piston and tip-tilt motion. The mirror generates large pure vertical displacement up to 320 μm at only 3 V with a power consumption of 56 mW for each actuator. The maximum optical scan angle achieved is ±18° at 3 V. The measured thermal response time is 15.4 ms and the mechanical resonances of piston and tip-tilt modes are 550 Hz and 832 Hz, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Microsystems)
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801 KiB  
Article
Infrared Optical Switch Using a Movable Liquid Droplet
by Miao Xu, Xiahui Wang, Boya Jin and Hongwen Ren
Micromachines 2015, 6(2), 186-195; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi6020186 - 27 Jan 2015
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7428
Abstract
We report an infrared (IR) optical switch using a wedge-like cell. A glycerol droplet is placed in the cell and its surrounding is filled with silicone oil. The droplet has minimal surface area to volume (SA/V) ratio in the [...] Read more.
We report an infrared (IR) optical switch using a wedge-like cell. A glycerol droplet is placed in the cell and its surrounding is filled with silicone oil. The droplet has minimal surface area to volume (SA/V) ratio in the relaxing state. By applying a voltage, the generated dielectric force pulls the droplet to move toward the region with thinner cell gap. As a result, the droplet is deformed by the substrates, causing the SA/V of the droplet to increase. When the voltage is removed, the droplet can return to its original place in order to minimize the surface energy. Owing to the absorption of glycerol at 1.55 μm, the shifted droplet can be used to attenuate an IR beam with the advantage of polarization independent. Fluidic devices based on this operation mechanism have potential applications in optical fiber switches, IR shutter, and variable optical attenuations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Microsystems)
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Review

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1082 KiB  
Review
Devices Based on Co-Integrated MEMS Actuators and Optical Waveguide: A Review
by Franck Chollet
Micromachines 2016, 7(2), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi7020018 - 25 Jan 2016
Cited by 43 | Viewed by 12664
Abstract
The convergence of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and optics was, at the end of the last century, a fertile ground for a new breed of technological and scientific achievements. The weightlessness of light has been identified very early as a key advantage [...] Read more.
The convergence of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and optics was, at the end of the last century, a fertile ground for a new breed of technological and scientific achievements. The weightlessness of light has been identified very early as a key advantage for micro-actuator application, giving rise to optical free-space MEMS devices. In parallel to these developments, the past 20 years saw the emergence of a less pursued approach relying on guided optical wave, where, pushed by the similarities in fabrication process, researchers explored the possibilities offered by merging integrated optics and MEMS technology. The interest of using guided waves is well known (absence of diffraction, tight light confinement, small size, compatibility with fiber optics) but it was less clear how they could be harnessed with MEMS technology. Actually, it is possible to use MEMS actuators for modifying waveguide properties (length, direction, index of refraction) or for coupling light between waveguide, enabling many new devices for optical telecommunication, astronomy or sensing. With the recent expansion to nanophotonics and optomechanics, it seems that this field still holds a lot of promises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Microsystems)
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5896 KiB  
Review
Progress of MEMS Scanning Micromirrors for Optical Bio-Imaging
by Lih Y. Lin and Ethan G. Keeler
Micromachines 2015, 6(11), 1675-1689; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi6111450 - 05 Nov 2015
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 13348
Abstract
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have an unmatched ability to incorporate numerous functionalities into ultra-compact devices, and due to their versatility and miniaturization, MEMS have become an important cornerstone in biomedical and endoscopic imaging research. To incorporate MEMS into such applications, it is critical to [...] Read more.
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have an unmatched ability to incorporate numerous functionalities into ultra-compact devices, and due to their versatility and miniaturization, MEMS have become an important cornerstone in biomedical and endoscopic imaging research. To incorporate MEMS into such applications, it is critical to understand underlying architectures involving choices in actuation mechanism, including the more common electrothermal, electrostatic, electromagnetic, and piezoelectric approaches, reviewed in this paper. Each has benefits and tradeoffs and is better suited for particular applications or imaging schemes due to achievable scan ranges, power requirements, speed, and size. Many of these characteristics are fabrication-process dependent, and this paper discusses various fabrication flows developed to integrate additional optical functionality beyond simple lateral scanning, enabling dynamic control of the focus or mirror surface. Out of this provided MEMS flexibility arises some challenges when obtaining high resolution images: due to scanning non-linearities, calibration of MEMS scanners may become critical, and inherent image artifacts or distortions during scanning can degrade image quality. Several reviewed methods and algorithms have been proposed to address these complications from MEMS scanning. Given their impact and promise, great effort and progress have been made toward integrating MEMS and biomedical imaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Microsystems)
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