Patent ID: 6838738

Claim:
An electrostatic actuator formed in a single layer comprising: a stator formed in the layer comprising a first plurality of fingers; a rotor formed in the layer comprising a second plurality of fingers, wherein: one or more of the fingers of the second plurality is between the fingers of the first plurality, and one or more fingers of the stator and rotor are positioned above a conducting plane having the same potential as the rotor, each of said stator and rotor comprising electrically conducting layers, and one or more fingers of the rotor has a height less than or equal to one or more fingers of the stator such that a vertical force is exerted upon the rotor, the height measured from the bottom of the finger to the top of the finger, wherein the first and second plurality of fingers are substantially in a plane when no voltage is applied to the actuator, such plane being transverse to direction of the vertical force, said rotor being pivoted about an axis, so that when a voltage is applied to a conducting layer of the stator, a vertical force is exerted upon one or more fingers of the rotor, causing the rotor to rotate about the axis, wherein the rotor further comprises a central portion, the central portion forming part of a micro-optical component that attenuates or switches an input signal be rotation of the central portion of the rotor.