A micromirror device with post-fabrication re-adjustable pull-in parameters

In prevalent torsion actuators the angular travel range and pull-in instability are set and cannot be changed once the device is fabricated. The current work presents a novel adjustable micromirror device. By using multiple electrodes, the novel design allows continuous and reversible adjustment of the electromechanical response and pull-in instability of a fabricated device. This response adjustment is demonstrated on a torsion micromirror device and it is used for analog adjustment of the stable angular travel range of micromirror. In addition, the inherent properties of the device enable simple duty cycle modulation of the dynamic response that can be used for gray-scale control.