A Distortion-minimizing Micro-mirror Array with Microactuators for Wide-angle Viewing

Mirrors of numerous shapes, including spherical and paraboloidal mirrors, have been employed for many different commercial and industrial uses, despite their tendencies to distort and warp images. When the object in consideration is planar and oriented normal to the optical axis of the mirror, the amount of distortion introduced by a paraboloidal mirror is less than the distortion introduced by a spherical mirror. Therefore, there must exist an optimal mirror shape that minimizes distortion of planar objects normal to the optical axis. This objective of this study was to fabricate a versatile device capable of simulating numerous mirror shapes to allow for determination of optimal, distortionminimizing mirrors. Using an Excimer Laser, millimeter-scale mirror mechanisms capable of rotation about two axes were created. Electromagnetic actuation was tested and experimented with in order to determine its feasibility as a means of mirror manipulation. Piezoelectric actuation was also investigated. Although no actuation was achieved, the numerous attempts provided useful information as to why no motion occurred. This paper will delineate the findings of these actuation experiments and provide the groundwork for future research and experimentation.