This paper introduces an optical 2-axis Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) micromirror actuated by a pair of electrothermal actuators and a set of passive torsion bars. The actuated element is a dual-reflective circular mirror plate of 1 in diameter. This inner mirror plate is connected to a rigid frame via a pair of torsion bars in two diametrically opposite ends located on the rotation axis. A pair of electrothermal bimorphs generates a force onto the perpendicular free ends of the mirror plate in the same angular direction. An array of electrothermal bimorph cantilevers deflects the rigid frame around a working angle of 45 for side-view scan. The performed scans reach large mechanical angles of 32 for the frame and 22 for the in-frame mirror. We denote three resonant main modes, pure flexion of the frame at 205 , a pure torsion of the mirror plate at 1.286 and coupled mode of combined flexion and torsion at 1.588 . The micro device was fabricated through successive stacks of materials onto a silicon-on-insulator wafer and the patterned deposition on the back-side of the dual-reflective mirror is achieved through a dry film photoresist photolithography process.
Resonant biosensors are known for their high accuracy and high level of miniaturization. However, their fabrication costs prevent them from being used as disposable sensors and their effective commercial success will depend on their ability to be reused repeatedly. Accordingly, all the parts of the sensor in contact with the fluid need to tolerate the regenerative process which uses different chemicals (H3PO4, H2SO4 based baths) without degrading the characteristics of the sensor. In this paper, we propose a fluidic interface that can meet these requirements, and control the liquid flow uniformity at the surface of the vibrating area. We study different inlet and outlet channel configurations, estimating their performance using numerical simulations based on finite element method (FEM). The interfaces were fabricated using wet chemical etching on Si, which has all the desirable characteristics for a reusable biosensor circuit. Using a glass cover, we could observe the circulation of liquid near the active surface, and by using micro-particle image velocimetry (μPIV) on large surface area we could verify experimentally the effectiveness of the different designs and compare with simulation results.
1 October 2007 in Microgravity Science and Technology