Optical MEMS-based arrays

Industrial Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) developers are rapidly bringing to demonstration inertial, radio frequency, and optical MEMS devices and components. The Army has a requirement for compact, highly reliable, and inexpensive laser beam steering components for missile seekers and unmanned aerial vehicles remote sensing components to provide a fast scanning capability for pointing, acquisition, tracking, and data communication. The coupling of this requirement with recent developments in the micro-optics area, has led scientists and engineers at the Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) to consider optical MEMS-based phased arrays, which-have potential applications in the commercial industry as well as in the military, as a replacement for gimbals. Laser beam steering in commercial applications such as free space communication, scanning display, bar-code reading, and gimbaled seekers; require relatively large monolithic micro-mirrors to accomplish the required optical resolution. The Army will benefit from phased arrays composed of relatively small micro-mirrors that can be actuated through large deflection angles with substantially reduced response times. The AMCOM Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) has initiated a research project to develop MEMS-based phased arrays for use in a small volume, inexpensive Laser Detection and Ranging (LADAR) seeker that is particularly attractive because of its ability to provide large field-of-regard and autonomous target acquisition for reconnaissance mission applications. The primary objective of the collaborative project with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is to develop rugged, MEMS-based phased arrays for incorporation into the 2-D scanner of a LADAR seeker. Design challenges and approach to achieving performance requirements will be discussed.