Micromirror device with reversibly adjustable properties

In this letter, a novel adjustable micromirror device using multiple electrodes is presented. The novel design allows post fabrication continuous and reversible adjustment of the electromechanical response and pull-in instability. This property is demonstrated on a fabricated device and is used for analog adjustment of the stable angular travel range of the micromirror. In addition, the inherent properties of the device enable simple duty cycle modulation of the dynamic response that can be used for gray-scale control. These properties are in contrast to prevalent torsion actuators in which the angular travel range and pull-in instability are set and cannot be changed once the device is fabricated.