Journal of Functional Materials and Devices, Volume. 31, Issue 4, 292(2025)
Research on electrostatically driven MEMS optical phase shifter with integrated comb capacitive displacement sensor
We designed and fabricated an electrostatically actuated micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) optical phase shifter incorporating a comb capacitive displacement sensor. To overcome the technical challenges of high driving voltage and inadequate control precision in current MEMS optical phase shifters, this study employed a hollow serpentine elastic beam structure to reduce the out-of-plane vertical stiffness of the elastic beam within the constrained chip dimensions, thereby lowering the actuation voltage. Furthermore, a comb-capacitive displacement sensor was integrated to facilitate an optical mirror displacement sensing system, significantly enhancing control accuracy. Experimental results indicate that at a driving voltage of 59 V, the micromirror achieves an optical phase modulation of 2.139 5π rad. The integrated comb-capacitive sensor demonstrates a detection error of less than 0.5 fF, corresponding to an optical phase-shifting error below 0.016 2π rad. This device shows promising potential for applications in optical communication systems and vector optical phased arrays as a phase modulation element.
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HAN Yuwei, XIA Yuhu, ZHOU Biqing, CAI Minli, WANG Xiaoyue, WU Yaming. Research on electrostatically driven MEMS optical phase shifter with integrated comb capacitive displacement sensor[J]. Journal of Functional Materials and Devices, 2025, 31(4): 292
Received: May. 2, 2025
Accepted: Aug. 22, 2025
Published Online: Aug. 22, 2025
The Author Email: WU Yaming (yamingwu@mail.sim.ac.cn)