An open-loop nano-positioning micromechanical digital-to-analog converter for grating light modulation
- Resource Type
- Periodical
- Authors
- Guangya Zhou; VJ, L.; Fook Siong Chau
- Source
- IEEE Photonics Technology Letters IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE. 17(5):1010-1012 May, 2005
- Subject
- Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Photonics and Electrooptics
Nanopositioning
Micromechanical devices
Digital-analog conversion
Digital modulation
Optical modulation
Prototypes
Microelectromechanical systems
Diffraction gratings
Intensity modulation
Optical diffraction
Diffraction grating
grating light modulator
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
- Language
- ISSN
- 1041-1135
1941-0174
We report an open-loop digitally driven precision positioning mechanism, termed micromechanical digital-to-analog converter (MDAC), and its pioneering application in a grating light modulator. A prototype grating light modulator driven by a 6-bit MDAC has been fabricated using the polysilicon multiuser microelectromechanical systems processes, achieving a total stroke of 296 nm (full-scale output) and step size [least significant bit (LSB)] of 4.7 nm in a highly repeatable and stable manner. The grating light modulator demonstrated about 13-dB contrast ratio between maximum and minimum intensity of the zeroth diffraction order. The proposed mechanism can be configured for many promising applications including digital variable optical attenuators for optical fiber communications.