Gimbal-Less Two-Axis Electromagnetic Microscanner with Twist Mechanism.

Area of Science:

• MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)
• Optical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Conventional microscanners often use gimbal-less leverage mechanisms, limiting scan angles.
• Optical applications demand larger scanning mirror angles for improved performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an electromagnetically driven microscanner utilizing a novel gimbal-less twist mechanism.
• To enhance scan angles in optical applications by overcoming limitations of existing designs.

Main Methods:

• Development of a microscanner based on a gimbal-less twist mechanism.
• Fabrication of a scanner with a 3-mm-diameter mirror and a single-turn coil.
• Utilizing a new methodology based on fast Fourier transform for crosstalk estimation.

Main Results:

• The twist mechanism increased scan angles by 1.55x (slow axis) and 1.97x (fast axis) under the same force compared to leverage mechanisms.
• Scan angles increased by 3.64x (slow axis) and 1.97x (fast axis) under the same maximum stress.
• Achieved maximum scan angles of 5° (quasi-static) and 22° (resonant) for slow and fast axes, respectively.
• Experimentally estimated crosstalk was as low as 0.47% and 0.97% for fast and slow axes.

Conclusions:

• The gimbal-less twist mechanism offers superior scan angle performance for microscanners.
• This technology is suitable for optical applications requiring large scanning mirror angles.
• The developed methodology provides accurate crosstalk estimation.