Light-Intensity-Feedback-Waveform Generator Based on MEMS Variable Optical Attenuator

Increasing demands on the dynamical behavior of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices are reaching a point where mechanical design by itself cannot provide further improvements. Alternative approaches based on control theory, such as the open-loop or the closed-loop driving strategies, must...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on industrial electronics (1982) 2008-01, Vol.55 (1), p.417-426
Main Authors: Borovic, B., Ai-Qun Liu, Popa, D., Hong Cai, Lewis, F.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attenuators
Control systems
Control theory
Devices
Dynamical systems
Electric variables control
Electrostatic comb drive
Electrostatics
Feedback loop
Light
light-intensity control
Lighting control
Microelectromechanical systems
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
Micromechanical devices
Optical attenuators
Optical feedback
Optical variables control
optical waveform generator
Signal generators
variable optical attenuators (VOA)
Waveform generators
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Increasing demands on the dynamical behavior of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices are reaching a point where mechanical design by itself cannot provide further improvements. Alternative approaches based on control theory, such as the open-loop or the closed-loop driving strategies, must be used instead to provide further enhancements in device performance. In this paper, the design of a light-intensity control system for an optical waveform generator is presented. The optical waveform generator is based on the light-modulation ability of MEMS variable optical attenuators (VOA). The VOA is of shutter-insertion type driven by an electrostatic comb drive. The control system consists of an inner position-control loop and an outer light-intensity-control loop. The inner control loop improves the dynamic response of the position of the MEMS electrostatic comb actuator by using position feedback, whereas the outer feedback loop handles both light-intensity regulation and tracking. An experimental setup and a practical system characterization are given. Based on this, the feedback control system is implemented on an actual MEMS VOA. The results verify that the control system proposed in this paper does significantly improve both the accuracy and the dynamical behavior of the existing device.
ISSN:0278-0046
1557-9948
DOI:10.1109/TIE.2007.910514