Large stroke MOEMS actuators for optical path length modulation in miniaturized FTIR spectrometers

Thilo Sandner; Christian Drabe; Harald Schenk; Andreas Kenda

doi:10.1117/12.818605

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28 April 2009 Large stroke MOEMS actuators for optical path length modulation in miniaturized FTIR spectrometers

Thilo Sandner, Christian Drabe, Harald Schenk, Andreas Kenda

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Proceedings Volume 7319, Next-Generation Spectroscopic Technologies II; 73190H (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818605
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2009, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

In this paper we present a novel translatory MOEMS device with extraordinary large stroke especially designed for fast optical path modulation in an improved miniaturized Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer capable to perform time resolved measurements from NIR to MIR. Recently, we presented a first MOEMS based FTIR system using a different translatory MOEMS actuator with bending suspensions of the mirror plate and ±100μm oscillation amplitude resulting in a limited spectral resolution of 30 cm^-1. For the novel MOEMS actuator an advanced pantograph suspension of the mirror plate was used to guarantee an extraordinary large stroke of up to 500 μm required for an improved spectral resolution. To optimize the optical throughput of the spectrometer the mirror aperture was increased to 7 mm². The MOEMS actuators are driven electro statically resonant using out-of-plane comb drives and operate at a resonant frequency of 500 (1000) Hz, respectively. Hence, this enables to realize an improved MOEMS based FTIR-spectrometer with a spectral resolution of up to 10 cm^-1, a SNR of > 1000:1 and an acquisition time of 1 ms per spectrum of the miniaturized FTIR-system. In this article we discuss in detail the design and the experimental characteristics of the novel large stroke translatory MOEMS device. The application and system integration, especially the optical vacuum packaging, of this MOEMS device in an improved miniaturized MOEMS based FTIR spectrometer enabling ultra rapid measurements in the NIRMIR spectral region with 12cm^-1 spectral resolution is discussed in a separate paper submitted to this conference.

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Thilo Sandner, Christian Drabe, Harald Schenk, and Andreas Kenda "Large stroke MOEMS actuators for optical path length modulation in miniaturized FTIR spectrometers", Proc. SPIE 7319, Next-Generation Spectroscopic Technologies II, 73190H (28 April 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818605

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