Silicon based optical scanner using PDMS as torsion springs

Optical scanners made by MEMS technology have been studied since the beginning of the 80's. However, there has been an increasing interest for optical scanners having a large mirror, i.e. several millimetres square. The large mirror is needed in some industrial applications where a cheap laser source with a spot size of 5 mm in diameter, and simple optical parts are used. In order to achieve large mechanical angles with robustness, the proposed device uses the soft silicon based polymer PDMS for the torsion springs of the scanner.