Variable Wavelength Interference Filter Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing variable wavelength interference filters are prone to deterioration in drive and optical characteristics due to environmental factors like moisture and foreign matter, leading to reliability issues and requiring costly, time-consuming packaging processes that increase size and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A compact and cost-effective design featuring a sealed inner space between substrates, using a sealing member to prevent moisture and foreign matter ingress, with the option of reduced-pressure sealing and various bonding methods to ensure reliability and responsiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate package is used to airtightly encapsulate the variable wavelength interference filter, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the package structure with the variable wavelength interference filter by forming the sealed inner space directly using the substrates (first substrate, second substrate, third substrate) and bonding layers that are already part of the filter assembly. The sealing member is integrated into this structure to seal the gaps between substrates, eliminating the need for a separate external package while maintaining the protective enclosure function.
2Reliability
If a separate package is used to airtightly encapsulate the variable wavelength interference filter, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The package functions are combined with the filter manufacturing process. The sealed inner space is formed during the assembly of the filter components (substrates and bonding layers), and the sealing member is applied to seal gaps between these components. This integration allows the protective enclosure to be created as part of the filter manufacturing process rather than as a separate post-assembly step, reducing both cost and time.
3Reliability
If a separate package with housing walls is used, then reliability is improved, but the size of the variable wavelength interference filter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing walls of the package are merged with the substrates of the filter. The first substrate, second substrate, and third substrate serve dual functions as both optical components of the filter and structural walls of the sealed enclosure. This eliminates the need for additional housing walls and reduces the overall size compared to a separate package design.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable section with the movable mirror is nested within the sealed inner space formed by the substrates. The entire variable wavelength interference filter assembly is contained within the sealed space created by integrating the substrates as housing walls, creating a compact nested structure that minimizes volume.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures the reliability and responsiveness of the variable wavelength interference filter by preventing environmental degradation, allowing for miniaturization and cost reduction without the need for separate packaging, while maintaining high sealing quality and manufacturing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
an electrostatic actuator having a pair of displacing electrodes opposed to each other disposed respectively on the surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate opposed to each other, and making the movable section be displaced in a substrate thickness direction due to an electrostatic attractive force in response to application of a predetermined voltage to the pair of displacing electrodes
Implementation Method 2
a spectral filter, which reflects light between a pair of mirrors to transmit light with a specific wavelength while canceling out lights with other wavelengths each other due to interference
Data Source
AI summary
A variable wavelength interference filter includes a first substrate having a stationary mirror, a second substrate bonded to the first substrate and provided with a movable section and a movable mirror fixed to the movable section, and a third substrate bonded to the second substrate on an opposite side to the first substrate, and is provided with a first inner space sandwiched by the first substrate and the second substrate, a first gap, through which the first inner space communicates with the outside, a second inner space sandwiched by the second substrate and the third substrate, and a second gap, through which the second inner space communicates with the outside, and the first gap and the second gap are each sealed by a sealing member.