Investigating the thermal response of a micro-optical shutter

This paper discusses the thermal analysis of a fully integrated micro-switch for surety applications. Specifically, this study focuses on the temperature increase of a micromachined optical shutter with spot heating from a micro-laser. To analyze the shutter response, a 'Design-to-Analysis' interface has been built that generates an accurate 3-D solid geometry from the 2-D mask layout. Besides performing analysis, engineers can also use this solid modeler to virtually prototype and verify a design before fabrication. A parametric study is performed to determine the effects of thermal conductivity and contact resistance on the thermal response of this passively cooled device.