Paper
23 January 2006 Design, characterization, and control of a large aperture MOEMS Fabry-Perot tunable infrared filter
Jeremy A. Palmer, Wen-Ting Hsieh, Manuel Quijada, Brent Mott, Eddie Akpan, Gary L. Brown Jr., Mindy B. Jacobson, Matthew A. Greenhouse
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
A miniature Fabry-Perot tunable infrared filter under development at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is fabricated using micro opto electromechanical systems (MOEMS) technology. Intended for wide-field imaging spectroscopy in space flight, it features a large 10-mm diameter aperture structure that consists of a set of opposing suspended thin films 500 nanometers in thickness, supported by annular silicon disks. Achieving the desired effective finesse in the MOEMS instrument requires maximizing the RMS flatness in the film. This paper presents surface characterization data for the suspended aperture film prior to, and following application of a multi-layer dielectric mirror. A maximum RMS flatness of 38 nanometers was measured prior to coating, leading to an estimate of the maximum effective finesse of 14. Results show evidence of initial deformation of the silicon support structure due to internal stress in the substrate and thin film layers. Film stress gradients in the dielectric coating on either side of the aperture add convexity and other localized deflections. The design of a tuning system based upon electrostatic positioning with feedback control is presented.
© (2006) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Jeremy A. Palmer, Wen-Ting Hsieh, Manuel Quijada, Brent Mott, Eddie Akpan, Gary L. Brown Jr., Mindy B. Jacobson, and Matthew A. Greenhouse "Design, characterization, and control of a large aperture MOEMS Fabry-Perot tunable infrared filter", Proc. SPIE 6114, MOEMS Display, Imaging, and Miniaturized Microsystems IV, 61140G (23 January 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.641266
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CITATIONS
Cited by 2 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Microopto electromechanical systems

Fabry–Perot interferometers

Optical filtering

Prototyping

Silicon

Coating

Dielectric mirrors

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