MEMS Optical Shutter with Laterally Actuated Blade
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical shutters face challenges in achieving rapid switching, low power consumption, and compact size while maintaining high optical performance, with current technologies often compromising on one or more of these aspects.
Innovation Solution
A micro-machined optical shutter design featuring vertically aligned entry and exit layers with a shutter blade actuated laterally to interrupt or allow light passage through a pinhole, incorporating microlenses for focusing and collimating light, and a micromachined beam dump for redirected light, all integrated into a compact chip device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electro-mechanical shutter is used, then optical performance is improved, but switching speed and size deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional electro-mechanical shutter mechanisms with a MEMS-based system. The MEMS shutter blade is actuated by electrostatic forces rather than traditional mechanical motors or actuators, enabling faster switching speeds while maintaining compact dimensions. The electrostatic actuation mechanism eliminates the need for complex mechanical linkages, directly addressing the switching speed limitation of conventional electro-mechanical shutters.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the shutter system by miniaturizing the blade dimensions and optimizing the electrostatic actuation parameters. The MEMS blade is designed with specific thickness and width parameters that enable rapid response while maintaining optical performance. The actuation voltage and electrode geometry are optimized to achieve fast switching without compromising the optical extinction ratio.
2Speed
If electro-optical shutter is used, then switching speed and size are improved, but optical performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the optical path into distinct regions: an entry layer with a through-passage, an actuation plane with the MEMS blade, and an exit layer with a pinhole. This segmentation allows the MEMS blade to focus its function solely on rapid switching while the pinhole aperture provides the optical isolation function. The separation of switching function (MEMS blade) and optical filtering function (pinhole) enables both fast switching and high optical performance to be achieved simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a pinhole aperture as an intermediary element between the entry and exit layers. This pinhole serves as a spatial filter that blocks stray light and enhances optical extinction while allowing the MEMS blade to operate at high speed without directly handling the optical filtering task. The microlenses further act as intermediaries to focus and collimate light, optimizing the optical path through the compact structure.
3Reliability
If dual-device series configuration is used, then optical performance and switching speed are improved, but device complexity, size, and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions into a single integrated MEMS device structure. The entry layer, actuation plane with MEMS blade, and exit layer with pinhole are combined into one compact chip-scale device. The microlenses are integrated directly into the optical path within the same device housing. This integration eliminates the need for separate mechanical and electro-optical components, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high optical performance and fast switching capabilities.
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
Enables high-speed, transient-free switching with low power consumption and high optical performance in a compact form factor, suitable for applications such as cold atom and ion systems, clocks, and quantum computers.
Implementation Method 1
an input microlens which focuses incoming light
Implementation Method 2
an output microlens which collimates light which has passed through the pinhole
Implementation Method 3
A preferred embodiment of the shutter blade has a reflective angled surface such that, when the blade's leading end covers the pinhole, the angled surface redirects light on the optical path away from the pinhole
Data Source
AI summary
A micro-machined optical shutter includes an entry layer with a through-passage having an input side adapted to receive incoming light and an output side, and an exit layer with a through-passage having an input side comprising a pinhole and an output side. The entry and exit layers are vertically aligned, thereby providing an optical path such that light exiting the entry layer enters the exit layer via the pinhole unless the optical path is interrupted. An actuation plane positioned between the entry and exit layers comprises a shutter blade and an actuator arranged to move the shutter blade laterally with respect to the pinhole when actuated. The shutter blade preferably has a reflective angled surface such that, when the blade covers the pinhole, the angled surface redirects light on the optical path away from the pinhole, preferably into a micromachined beam dump.