Thermally actuated cantilevered beam optical scanner
AssigneeMagic Leap, Inc.
InventorCharles David Melville
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Abstract
Embodiments of optical scanners, optical projection systems, and methods of scanning optical waveguides and projecting images are described. The disclosed devices, systems and methods advantageously provide an improvement to the compactness, robustness, simplicity, and reliability of optical scanners and optical projection systems by implementing a thermally driven actuator for inducing oscillations of a cantilever within the optical scanners and optical projection systems. The stability and accuracy of optical scanners and optical projection systems are further enhanced using capacitive sensing, feedback, and phase correction techniques described herein.
Claims19
A method comprising:
- providing an optical scanning device, the optical scanning device comprising a base, a cantilevered beam extending from the base, and a plurality of heaters disposed on the cantilevered beam;
- actuating the plurality of heaters to induce oscillation of the cantilevered beam;
- and
- actuating a light source to generate light that is coupled to an optical waveguide that is positioned on the base and the cantilevered beam and extends from the base along the cantilevered beam.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
- actuating a plurality of heaters to induce oscillation of a cantilevered beam of an optical scanning device, wherein the optical scanning device comprises a base, the cantilevered beam extending from the base, and the plurality of heaters disposed on the cantilevered beam;
- and
- actuating a light source to generate light that is coupled to an optical waveguide that is positioned on the base and the cantilevered beam and extends from the base along the cantilevered beam.
A system comprising:
- one or more processors;
- and
- a computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
- actuating a plurality of heaters to induce oscillation of a cantilevered beam of an optical scanning device, wherein the optical scanning device comprises a base, the cantilevered beam extending from the base, and the plurality of heaters disposed on the cantilevered beam;
- and
- actuating a light source to generate light that is coupled to an optical waveguide that is positioned on the base and the cantilevered beam and extends from the base along the cantilevered beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.