Inventors:
Igor Volfman - Sunnyvale CA, US
Andrew Huibers - Palo Alto CA, US
Satyadev Patel - Sunnyvale CA, US
Peter Richards - San Francisco CA, US
Leonid Frenkel - Palo Alto CA, US
Jim Dunphy - San Jose CA, US
Regis Grasser - Mountain View CA, US
Greg Schaadt - Santa Clara CA, US
Assignee:
Texas Instruments Incorporated - Dallas TX
International Classification:
G01N 21/88, G02B 26/00
US Classification:
356218, 356124, 356128, 359190, 359191
Abstract:
The invention provides a method and apparatus for evaluating the product quality and performances of micromirror array devices through measurements of the electromechanical responses of the individual micromirrors to the driving forces of electric fields. The electromechanical responses of the micromirrors according to the present invention are described in terms of the rotational angles associated with the operational states, such as the ON and OFF state angles of the ON and OFF state when the micromirror array device is operated in the binary-state mode, and the response speed (i. e. the time interval required for a micromirror device to transit form one state to another) of the individual micromirrors to the driving fields.