Abstract
In this paper, we describe the design principles of serpentine springs with high reliability for the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) optical switches with large mirror mass. The most often seen failure mode of the MEMS optical switches under reliability tests is the breaking of these springs, which provide the restoring force for the MEMS actuators. The breaking points are usually at the turning corner of the serpentine springs when the MEMS optical switches are under a high G shock test or a vibration test. In order to overcome the difficulties, we redesigned the corner shapes of the springs with careful consideration. We will discuss the theoretical analysis and simulation modeling for the corner shapes of serpentine springs. MEMS optical switches with redesigned serpentine springs are fabricated and tested to prove the proposed design. The results show that the MEMS optical switches with new serpentine springs can pass rigorous reliability tests.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. Ford, V. Aksyuk, J. Bishop and J. Walker: J. Lightwave Technol. 17 (1999) 904.
G. Su, F. Jiang, E. Chiu, A. Avakian, J. Dickson, D. Jia and T. Tsao: Proc. CLEO/PR, 2003, p. 96.
H. Toshiyoshi and H. Fujita: J. Microelectromech. Syst. 5 (1996) 231.
V. Aksyuk, D. Bishop and P. Gammel: U.S. Patent 5923798 (1999).
A. Neukermans and T. Slater: U.S. Patent 6044705 (1997).
A. Gasparan, V. Aksyuk, P. Busch and S. Arney: Proc. SPIE 4180 (2000) 86.
T. Yamamoto, J. Yamaguchi, R. Sawada and Y. Uenishi: NTT Tech. Rev. 1 (2003), No. 7, 37.
L. Lin, E. Goldstein and R. Tkach: IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 10 (1998) 525.
S. Lee, L. Lin and M. Wu: Electron. Lett. 31 (1995) 1481.
S. Lee, L. Huang, C. Kim and M. Wu: J. Lightwave Technol. 17 (1999) 7.
G. Su, H. Toshiyoshi and M. C. Wu: IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 13 (2001) 606.
C. Marxer, C. Thio, M. Gretillat, F. de Rooji, R. Battig, R. Anthamatten, O. Valk and P. Vogel: J. Microelectromech. Syst. 6 (1997) 277.
M. Kohl and K. D. Skrobanek: Proc. Transducers ‘97, Vol. 2, p. 785.
O. Tsuboi, Y. Mizuno, N. Koma, H. Soneda, H. Okuda, S. Ueda, I. Sawaki and F. Yamagishi: Proc. MEMS 2002, p. 532.
K. Petersen: Proc. IEEE 70 (1982) 420.
K. Sooriakumar: Electrochem. Soc. Proc. 95-27 (1995) 231.
A. Husain: Optical Fiber Communication Conf., 2001, keynote speaker.
A. Hussain and L. Fan: WIPO Patent 0073840, 2000.
L. Lin: OFC Tech. Dig., 1998.
R. Rivello: Theory and Analysis of Flight Structure (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1969).
S. Timoshenko and J. Goodier: Theory of Elasticity (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1970).
Reliability requirement for passive components, GR-1221, Telcordia Technologies, 1999, p. 6–1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Su, GD.J., Hung, S.H., Jia, D. et al. Serpentine Spring Corner Designs for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Optical Switches with Large Mirror Mass. OPT REV 12, 339–344 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10043-005-0339-9
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10043-005-0339-9