Design and construction of a micromechanical optical actuator

Optically powered fluid actuators are under development for use in 'control-by-light' systems including one based on photothermal effects inside a closed cell. The miniaturisation of the converter has been shown to improve the speed of operation of this device substantially, with time constants of the order of tens of milliseconds. Further integration of the various device components in silicon allows for performance improvements which are discussed. This paper focuses on the production and assembly of the multiple-wafer device using a combination of simple micromachining techniques. Some typical experimental results are presented and future developments are discussed.