Micro mirrors for high-speed laser deflection and patterning

This paper focuses on high-speed optical MEMS Scanners and Micro Mirror Arrays. Devices supporting spot/pixel rateshigher than 10 Mpixel/s are considered and discussed regarding limits and possibilities to further improve speed and optical properties. Several variants of both types, developed by our group, are presented. Scanning Micro Mirrors with frequencies up to 100 kHz enable spot rates of up to 130 Mpixels / s at 650 nm. Bragg-coatings enable high power applications up to 20 W (beam ø2 mm). Challenges like static and dynamic mirror planariy are discussed. A 29-kHz-scanner for laser projection serves as application example. Highly parallel operated Micro Mirror Arrays extend pattern speed to 10 Gpixel / s including analog grey scaling. Irradiation tests prove stable operation of the mirrors at DUV. Prospects regarding optical planarity and high reflective coatings are discussed. By means of two examples, laser patterning of semiconductor masks and laser patterning of Printed Circuit Boards, properties of the spatial light modulators are presented. The two device classes are compared regarding spot/pixel rate and frequency. The comparison includes representative MEMS device examples from literature.