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Computer Microvision for MEMS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

Dennis M. Freeman
Dennis M. Freeman*
Affiliation:
EECS Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 freeman@mit.edu
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Abstract

We have developed a versatile instrument for in situ measurement of motions of MEMS. Images of MEMS are magnified with an optical microscope and projected onto a CCD camera. Stroboscopic illumination is used to obtain stop-action images of the moving structures. Stopaction images from multiple focal planes provide information about 3D structure and 3D motion. Image analysis algorithms determine motions of all visible structures with nanometer accuracy.

Hardware for the system includes the microscope, CCD camera and associated frame grabber, piezoelectric focusing element, and a modular stimulator that generates arbitrary periodic waveforms and synchronized stroboscopic illumination. These elements are controlled from a Pentium-based computer using a graphical user interface that guides the user through both data collection and data analysis. The system can measure motions at frequencies as high as 5 MHz with nanometer resolution, i.e., well below the wavelength of light.

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