A proposal of vertical spring as a mechanical element for MEMS and fabrication of vertical spring using simple shadow evaporation process [and micromirror application]

We proposed a vertical spring as a mechanical element for effective use of device area in micromachines. The experiments over shadow evaporation process showed that the shape of trench-hole cross-section is the most important parameter for a flat spring fabrication. To demonstrate the usefulness of the vertical spring, we adapted the vertical spring to micromirror array, and the fabricated micromirror operated successfully over 200 million cycles without any mechanical problems.