Micro-electromechanical (MEM) optical resonator and method

An integrated optical resonator, comprising:

• a substrate,
• a cantilever beam affixed at one end to said substrate, at least a portion of said beam having a reflective surface, and
• a first bimorph actuator affixed to said cantilever beam and responsive to a first electrical stimulus, said actuator causing said beam to move in accordance with said first stimulus, wherein said bimorph actuator comprises a plurality of stacked material layers on said cantilever beam, at least two of said first actuator's layers having unequal thermal expansion coefficients.

An integrated optical resonator, comprising:

• a substrate,
• a cantilever beam affixed at one end to said substrate, at least a portion of said beam having a reflective surface, and
• a first bimorph actuator affixed to said cantilever beam and responsive to a first electrical stimulus, said actuator causing said beam to move in accordance with said first stimulus, wherein said reflective surface comprises a single-surface collimator, said collimator suitable for collimating light emitted from a laser diode.

An integrated resonator suitable for use in an optical scanner engine, comprising:

• a substrate,
• a cantilever beam affixed at a first end to said substrate and extending freely over said substrate at a second end, at least a portion of said free end having a reflective surface, and
• a bimorph actuator affixed to said cantilever beam and responsive to an electrical stimulus, said actuator causing the free end of said beam to move in accordance with said stimulus, said beam being at a rest position in the absence of electrical stimulus to said actuator, said actuator including at least two electrodes arranged such that a current flowing between them causes said actuator to heat and said beam to move away from said rest position, and a reduction in current flowing between said electrodes causes said actuator to cool and said beam to move towards said rest position.

An integrated resonator suitable for use in an optical scanner engine, comprising:

• a substrate,
• a cantilever beam affixed at a first end to said substrate and extending freely over said substrate at a second end, at least a portion of said free end having a reflective surface, and
• a bimorph actuator affixed to said cantilever beam and responsive to an electrical stimulus, said actuator causing the free end of said beam to move in accordance with said stimulus, said beam being at a rest position in the absence of electrical stimulus to said actuator, said actuator including at least two electrodes arranged such that a current flowing between them causes said actuator to heat and said beam to move away from said rest position, and a reduction in current flowing between said electrodes causes said actuator to cool and said beam to move towards said rest position, wherein said actuator comprises a bimorph material layer sandwiched between said electrodes.

An integrated optical resonator, comprising:

• a substrate,
• a cantilever beam affixed at one end to said substrate, at least a portion of said beam having a reflective surface, said cantilever beam having an associated fundamental resonant frequency and an excursion distance which varies with said stimulus, said excursion distance increased when said actuator is stimulated at said fundamental resonant frequency, said cantilever beam also having an associated higher-order orthogonal resonant frequency such that, when stimulated at said orthogonal resonant frequency said beam oscillates in a direction orthogonal to that followed when stimulated at said fundamental resonant frequency, and
• a bimorph actuator affixed to said cantilever beam and responsive to a first electrical stimulus, said actuator causing said beam to move in accordance with said first stimulus.