A Low-Stress Microactuator Array With Integrated Thin-Film Resistors

Author

Mathur, Vinita ; Vangala, Shivashankar

Author_Institution

Axsun Technol. Inc., Billerica, MA, USA

Volume

27

Issue

2

fYear

2015

fDate

Jan.15, 15 2015

Firstpage

141

Lastpage

144

Abstract

In this letter, we present a novel approach for integrating an electrostatic microactuator with a spiral thin-film resistor on a coplanar silicon substrate. We demonstrate a technique for fabricating large arrays of silicon nitride microactuators using low-stress plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition films. The process for integrating thin-film resistors spiraled around these actuators using sputtered films of tantalum nitride (sheet resistivity up to 1.4 kΩ per square) is then presented. We discuss a key application of this technology in optically addressable adaptive optics micromirror arrays.

Keywords

adaptive optics; electrostatic actuators; integrated optics; microfabrication; micromirrors; optical arrays; optical fabrication; optical films; plasma CVD; silicon compounds; sputter deposition; tantalum compounds; thin film resistors; Si₃N₄; TaN; coplanar silicon substrate; electrostatic microactuator integration; integrated spiral thin-film resistor; low-stress microactuator array; low-stress plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition films; optically addressable adaptive optic micromirror arrays; sheet resistivity; silicon nitride microactuator array fabrication; sputtered films; tantalum nitride; Actuators; Adaptive optics; Arrays; Films; Mirrors; Optical device fabrication; Resistors; MEMS; adaptive optics; electrical overstress (EOS); micro-mirror; thin film resistors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LPT.2014.2363409

Filename

6928404