Introduction to Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) with Emphasis on Optical Applications

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, or MEMS, are integrated micro devices or systems combining electrical and mechanical components. They are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) batch processing techniques and can range in size from micrometers to millimeters. These systems can sense, control and actuate on the micro scale, and function individually or in arrays to generate effects on the macro scale. This paper presents an overview of MEMS technology with emphasis on optical applications. Applications of MEMS devices vary in many fields from automotive transducers, biomedical technologies, communication systems, robotics, aerospace, micro-optics, industrial sensors and actuators. The applications of MEMS in optics include display systems, optical switching, optical communication, optical data storage, optical processing and interconnection, and adaptive optics. Examples of micro-optical components and systems are described in this paper.