Review of Electrothermal Micromirrors

Abstract

Electrothermal micromirrors have become an important type of micromirrors due to their large angular scanning range and large linear motion. Typically, electrothermal micromirrors do not have a torsional bar, so they can easily generate linear motion. In this paper, electrothermal micromirrors based on different thermal actuators are reviewed, and also the mechanisms of those actuators are analyzed, including U-shape, chevron, thermo-pneumatic, thermo-capillary and thermal bimorph-based actuation. Special attention is given to bimorph based-electrothermal micromirrors due to their versatility in tip-tilt-piston motion. The exemplified applications of each type of electrothermal micromirrors are also presented. Moreover, electrothermal micromirrors integrated with electromagnetic or electrostatic actuators are introduced.