Nanotube Micro-Opto-Mechanical Systems (N-MOMS)

In this paper we report the first applications of single wall carbon nanotube based micro-optomechanical systems (MOMS). Thin films of nanotubes with line widths ranging less than 1.5 μm and thicknesses ranging from 40 to 700 nm were patterned into micro-mechanical systems using batch fabrication techniques. Arrays of nanotube based MOM actuators, MOM-micromirrors and MOM-micro-grippers were fabricated using CMOS compatible techniques. Nanotube based MOMS devices showed better performance compared to their MEMS based electrostatic silicon counterparts and consumed only 200 μW-170 mW of power. These studies open a new field of nanotube based MOMS that could potentially outperform silicon based MEMS devices.