Patent ID: 7046410

Claim:
An electrostatically-actuated diffractive optical processor having a substrate, and an axis normal to at least a portion of a surface of the substrate comprising: a plurality of first mirror surfaces, each having two ends, at least a portion of each of the plurality of first mirror surfaces normal to the direction of the axis, and each suspended over the substrate and displaceable in the direction of the axis; a plurality of supports each coupled to at least a corresponding one of the plurality of first mirror surfaces at a point intermediate the ends of the corresponding one of the plurality of first mirror surfaces; a plurality of actuation beams, each of the plurality of actuation beams suspended over the substrate to form a corresponding actuation gap, each of the plurality of actuation beams coupled to at least one of the plurality of supports to suspend a corresponding one of the plurality of first mirror surfaces over the substrate, each of the plurality of actuation beams including an actuation region displaceable through the corresponding actuation gap; a plurality of second mirror surfaces, at least a portion of each of the plurality of second mirror surfaces normal to the direction of the axis, each of the plurality of second mirror surfaces optically adjacent to at least a corresponding one of the plurality of first mirror surfaces for light projected parallel to the axis, each of the plurality of second mirror surfaces separated from the corresponding one of the plurality of first mirror surfaces by a corresponding distance in the direction of the axis; and a plurality of electrodes, each coupled to the substrate and corresponding to one of the plurality of actuation beams; wherein when a voltage is applied between one of the plurality of actuation beams and the corresponding one of the plurality of electrodes, the actuation region is displaced through the corresponding actuation gap, the corresponding first mirror element is displaced, and the corresponding distance is changed.