The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 30, 2001
Filed:
Nov. 18, 1998
Dean Tran, Westminster, CA (US);
Edward A. Rezek, Torrance, CA (US);
Eric R. Anderson, Redondo Beach, CA (US);
William L. Jones, Inglewood, CA (US);
TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA (US);
Abstract
A micromirror device (,) is provided with a rotatable optical component (,) for use in a digital image processing application. The micromirror device (,) includes a semiconductor wafer (,), having a recess (,) formed therein, and a platform (,) with the optical component (,) deposited thereon that is movably coupled to the side surface of the recess (,). A first magnetic field source (,) is disposed around the periphery of the optical component (,) on the platform (,) and a second magnetic field source (,) is disposed proximate to this first magnetic field source (,), such that these magnetic field sources are selectively activatable to generate an electromagnetic field for rotating the platform (,). More specifically, the second magnetic field source (,) is disposed on the angular side surfaces of the recess (,) or adjacent to the recess (,) on a top surface of the wafer (,). A magnetic strip (,) may optionally be disposed on the bottom surface of the recess (,) for concentrating the electromagnetic field.