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:
Nov. 28, 2006
Filed:
Nov. 15, 2005
Patrick E. Feierabend, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
John S. Foster, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Richard T. Martin, Goleta, CA (US);
Paul J. Rubel, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
John W. Stocker, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Jeffery F. Summers, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Andrew D. Wallis, Los Alamos, CA (US);
Patrick E. Feierabend, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
John S. Foster, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Richard T. Martin, Goleta, CA (US);
Paul J. Rubel, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
John W. Stocker, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Jeffery F. Summers, Santa Barbara, CA (US);
Andrew D. Wallis, Los Alamos, CA (US);
Innovative Micro Technology, Goleta, CA (US);
Abstract
The invention describes a method and apparatus for deploying micromachined actuators in a plane which is orthogonal to the original fabrication plane of the devices. Using batch-processing, photolithographic procedures known in the micromachined electro-mechanical system (MEMS) art, a plurality of devices is constructed on a suitable substrate. The devices are then separated one from another by sawing and dicing the original fabrication wafer. The devices are rotated into an orthogonal orientation and affixed to a second wafer. The second wafer also contains circuitry for addressing and manipulating each of the devices independently of the others. With this method and apparatus, arrays of actuators are constructed whose plane of actuation is perpendicular to the plane of the array. This invention is useful for constructing N×M fiber optic switches, which direct light from N input fibers into M output fibers.