Self-assembled microactuated XYZ stages for optical scanning and alignment

A novel self-assembled, surface-micromachined micro-XYZ stage with large displacements and fine positioning accuracy has been demonstrated on a Si microoptical bench for optical scanning/alignment applications. Continuous lateral scanning up to 120 /spl mu/m and vertical scanning up to 250 /spl mu/m have been achieved with integrated scratch drive actuators (SDA), which have step resolutions of 27 nm. The XYZ stage can be fully assembled by applying an electric bias only. Focus adjustment of the micro-Fresnel lens integrated on the micro-XYZ stage has also been successfully demonstrated. This is useful for two-dimensional scanning, dynamic focusing/tracking, and fine optical alignment.