A micro scanning mirror, including a fixed substrate, a lens, and multiple cantilevers, are provided. Each cantilever includes a piezoelectric material structure, multiple first drive electrodes, and multiple second drive electrodes. The piezoelectric material structure includes a connecting part, a folding part, and a fixed part. The connecting part connects the lens along a direction parallel to a central axis of the lens. The folding part has a bending region and multiple drive electrode regions. The fixed part is connected to the fixed substrate, and the folding part is connected to the connecting part and the fixed part. The first drive electrodes and the second drive electrodes are respectively located in the corresponding drive electrode regions in the folding part. The micro scanning mirror of the disclosure can drive a large-sized micro mirror to rotate at an appropriate rotation angle.

A light deflector 2 includes: a mirror section 9 that reflects light; a movable frame 8 provided in such a manner as to surround the mirror section 9; a pair of torsion bars 13a and 13b having one end of each torsion bar connected to the mirror section 9 and the other end thereof connected to the movable frame 8 on a Y-axis; and semi-annular piezoelectric actuators 10a and 10b that are provided on the movable frame 8 and rotate the torsion bars 13a and 13b around the Y-axis in a reciprocating manner. The torsion bars 13a and 13b each have a constricted shape in which the transverse width at both end parts is the largest and the transverse width gradually decreases toward the central part thereof in a length direction.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a three-dimensionally structured member which can be made by a simpler process. The method for manufacturing a three-dimensionally structured member includes shaping a flat plate-shaped base member to produce a three-dimensionally structured member having a plurality of sections that are different from one another in thickness. The manufacturing method comprises: a mask formation step for forming a mask over the whole of at least one main surface of the base member; a mask removal step for removing a part of the mask; and an etching step for etching an exposed part of the base member wherein a combination of the mask removal step and the etching step is performed on the mask and the base member that correspond to each of the plurality of sections of the three-dimensionally structured member, in the order from thinnest to the thickest of thicknesses of the three-dimensionally structured members.

An optical scanning device includes a control unit, a light deflector, light detection units, and a light source. A mirror unit of the light deflector has a flat reflection part for generating scanning light and a groove-shaped reflection part for generating twice reflected light, and performs reciprocating rotation about a rotation axis. The light detection units are disposed at positions on the scanning trajectory of the scanning light where the twice reflected light is received, and are each divided into light detectors in the scanning direction of the scanning light by a division line. The control unit detects the deflection angle θ of the mirror unit based on both the output of the light detector and the output of the light detector.

The present invention discloses a three-axis accelerometer. The three-axis accelerometer comprises: a substrate; at least one anchor block fixedly disposed on the substrate; a first X-axis electrode, a second X-axis electrode, a first Y-axis electrode, a second Y-axis electrode, a first Z-axis electrode and a second Z-axis electrode all fixedly disposed on the substrate; a framework suspended above the substrate and comprising a first beam column, a second beam column disposed opposite to the first beam column and at least one connecting beam connecting the first beam column and the second beam column; a proof mass suspended above the substrate; and at least one elastic connection component configured to elastically connect to the at least anchor block, the connecting beam, and the proof mass. The three-axis accelerometer can realize high-precision acceleration detection on three axes with only one proof mass, and in particular, can provide a fully differential detection signal for the Z axis, thereby greatly improving detection precision.

A MEMS actuator includes a monolithic body of semiconductor material, with a supporting portion of semiconductor material, orientable with respect to a first and second rotation axes, transverse to each other. A first frame of semiconductor material is coupled to the supporting portion through first deformable elements configured to control a rotation of the supporting portion about the first rotation axis. A second frame of semiconductor material is coupled to the first frame by second deformable elements, which are coupled between the first and the second frames and configured to control a rotation of the supporting portion about the second rotation axis. The first and second deformable elements carry respective piezoelectric actuation elements.

This disclosure describes a comprising a handle wafer and a device wafer which is bonded to the handle wafer. The handle wafer comprises a cavity and the device wafer comprises a mobile rotor part above the cavity. A bottom coating layer covers at least a part of the bottom surface of the rotor.

In described examples, a system (e.g., a microelectromechanical system) includes a substrate, a support coupled to the substrate and a first and second element. The first element includes a contactor spring having a first portion coupled to the support and having a second portion including a cavity having a sloped surface. A clearance from the sloped surface to the substrate is widened as the sloped surface extends away from the first portion. The second portion includes a first contact surface adjacent to the sloped surface. The second element is coupled to the substrate and has a second contact surface adjacent to the first contact surface. One of the first element and the second element is adapted: in a first direction to urge the first contact surface and the second contact surface together; and in a second direction to urge the first contact surface and the second contact surface apart.

A Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) device includes a substrate, an electronic circuit mounted on the substrate, a movable element mounted on the substrate whose movement is controlled by application of an operating voltage by the electronic circuit, a stopper mounted on the substrate that stops the movement of the movable element through mechanical contact of the stopper with the movable element, and an auto-inspection mechanism that applies a test voltage between the movable element and the stopper and determines whether or not a leak current is present. The auto-inspection mechanism is mounted, at least in part, on the substrate. The test voltage is lower than the operating voltage.

A MEMS device with teeter-totter structure includes a mobile mass having an area in a plane and a thickness in a direction perpendicular to the plane. The mobile mass is tiltable about a rotation axis extending parallel to the plane and formed by a first and by a second half-masses arranged on opposite sides of the rotation axis. The first and the second masses have a first and a second centroid, respectively, arranged at a first and a second distance b1, b2, respectively, from the rotation axis. First through openings are formed in the first half-mass and, together with the first half-mass, have a first total perimeter p1 in the plane. Second through openings are formed in the second half-mass and, together with the second half-mass, have a second total perimeter p2 in the plane, where the first and the second perimeters p1, p2 satisfy the equation: p1×b1=p2×b2.