Micro-Opto-Electro-

Mechanical Systems
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Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems
(MOEMS) are not a special class of Micro-
Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) but
rather the combination of MEMS merged
with Micro-optics; this involves sensing or
manipulating optical signals on a very
small size scale using integrated
mechanical, optical, and electrical
systems. MOEMS includes a wide variety
of devices including optical switch, optical
cross-connect, tunable VCSEL,
microbolometers amongst others. These
devices are usually fabricated using micro-
optics and standard micromachining
technologies using materials like silicon,
silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and gallium
arsenide.

MOEMS: Merging Multi

Technologies
This Figure first was introduced by M. Edward
Motamedi

Diagram of a Digital micromirror showing the mirror

mounted on the suspended yoke with the torsion
spring running bottom left to top right (light grey), with
the electrostatic pads of the memory cells below (top
left and bottom right)
DLP CINEMA. A Texas Instruments Technology

MOEMS includes two major technologies,

MEMS and Micro-optics. Both these two
technologies independently involve in
batch processing similar to integrated
circuits, and micromachining similar to
fabrication of microsensor.
MEMS offers inherently device
miniaturization and wide applications in
sensors and actuators, robotics,
accelerometers, microvalves, flow
controllers, global positioning systems
(GPS) component miniaturization; and a
host of other sensors and actuators for
applications to space, air, land, and sea
vehicles, as well as industrial,
biotechnology, and consumer electronics

During the 1980s the acronym of MEMS

created a fortune for publication, getting
government contracts and publicity.
DARPA assigned a program manager for
this field and significantly soon MEMS is
promoted to be the king of the technology.
Several high tech journals that were
originated were attached to MEMS by
supporting miniaturization and low cost
manufacturing. Many private companies
which did not have sufficient knowledge
about MEMS also started jumping on the
bandwagon.

Parallel with MEMS developments and

even earlier, sensor technology advanced
to microsensors and joining with
microactuators. Development of
microsensors and microactuators were
also due to a mother technology of
micromachining. Micromachining is the
root of everything we have today in high
technology. This technology was never
credited in history as it deserved. It was
commercially used during the 1960s in
Switzerland, for micromachining quartz
orders of magnitudes harder than
micromachining silicon. MEMS acronym
was so powerful during the 1980s, that
with no choice microsensors and
microactuators that included
micromachining, all joined MEMS by a soft
landing. As a result, the MEMS acronym
was more attractive for publicity and even
today MEMS, is dominating in
microtechnologies without giving credit to
its real parents.
During the MEMS era, and before that time
frame, Rockwell International was involved
in commercial MEMS development under
government contracts. During early 1980s
Rockwell successfully built the first CMOS
MEMS high performance and high G
accelerometer chip for space
applications.[1] The wafer was processed
inside Rockwell VLSI lab in Anaheim, CA.
This was a breakthrough in MEMS
technology, but it did not appear in
literature until 1988.

During the early 1990s, Rockwell Science

Center, through internal research and
commercial programs with government
sponsors, contributed to the development
of micro-optics technology Teamed with
MIT/Lincoln-Lab. During 1992, Rockwell
applied micro-optics to the system
development of several industrial
applications, including, microlenses for
silicon focal planes,[2] high speed binary
microlens in GaAs,[3] antireflection
surfaces in silicon,[4] thin film microlens
arrays,[5] beam steering device,[6]
microlens integration with focal plane
arrays,[7] and optical transformer and
collimator.[8] Rockwell Science Center also
developed refractive microlens technology,
including gray scale photolithography.[9]
Diffractive microlenses based on binary
optic structures are typically fabricated in
bulk material by multiple sequential layers
of photoresist patterning and reactive ion
etching (RIE), to form a multi-step phase
profile. This profile approximates the ideal
kinoform lens surface. A special staircase
process, called binary optics, is used to
fabricate diffractive components.

With so many successes in Micro-optics

and MEMS, Rockwell researchers who
were involved in both MEMS and Micro-
optics, initiate development of several of
innovative photonics ideas combining both
technologies. This was behind the
acronym of MOEMS, when both MEMS
and Micro-optics were merged in one
single IC processing lab.

MOEMS is a promising multi technology

for miniaturization of critical optical
systems. The acronym is defined of three
high tech fields of micro-optics,
micromechanics, and microelectronics.
MOEMS indirectly could merge in
micromachining, microsensors and
microactuators if their processes are
compatible with integrated circuits.

Merging all these multi technologies,

made MOEMS an ideal knowhow for many
industrial demonstrations of commercial
devices, such as optical switches, digital
micromirror devices or DMD (see DLP),
bistable mirrors, laser scanners, optical
shutters, and dynamic micromirror
displays. All technologies of MOEMS have
the potential of batch processing and
embossed replication which, again, makes
them highly attractive and necessary for
commercial applications. MOEMS is an
enabling technology for applications that
cannot be addressed, using micro-optics
alone and is currently playing a significant
role in numerous optical applications. The
trend toward miniaturization and
integration of conventional optical
systems will accelerate the adoption of
MOEMS technology in commercialization
of many industrial components which are
today’s most desirable elements of optical
communication.

History of MOEMS
During 1991-1993, Dr. M. Edward
Motamedi, a former Rockwell International
innovator in the areas of both Micro-
Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and
Micro-optics, used internally the acronym
of MOEMS for Micro-Opto-Electro-
Mechanical Systems. This was to
distinguish between Optical MEMS and
MOEMS, where Optical MEMS could
include bulk optics but MOEMS is truly
based on microtechnology where MOEMS
devices are batched processed exactly like
integrated circuits, but this is not true in
most cases for Optical MEMS.

In 1993, Dr. Motamedi officially introduced

MOEMS for the first time, as the powerful
combination of MEMS and Micro-optics, in
an invited talk at the SPIE Critical Reviews
of Optical Science and Technology
conference in San Diego. In this talk Dr.
Motamedi introduced the figure below, for
showing that MOEMS is the interaction of
three major microtechnologies; namely
Micro-optics, Micromechanics, and
Microelectronics.[10]

See also
Digital micromirror device
Microfabrication
Microscanner

References
1. M. E. Motamedi, " Acoustic
Accelerometers ", IEEE Trans. on
Ultrasonic’s, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency
Control, Vol. UFFC-34, No. 2, P. 237, March
1988
2. M.E. Motamedi, et al, “Silicon
Microlenses for Enhanced Optical Coupling
to Silicon Focal Planes”, Proceedings of
SPIE, 1544, pp. 22-32, July 1991
3. M.E. Motamedi, et al, “High Speed Binary
Microlens in GaAs”, Proceedings, SPIE,
1544, pp. 33–44, July 1991.
4. M.E. Motamedi, et al, “Antireflection
surfaces in Silicon Using binary Optic
Technology,” Applied Optics, 1 August 1992,
Vo., 31, No 22, pp 4371-4376.
5. M.E. Motamedi, et al, “FPAs and thin film
binary optic microlens integration”, SPIE
2687, 70-77, 1996
6. M. E. Motamedi, et al, “Laser Beam
Steering Device” Conference on Binary
Optics, Huntsville, AL, NASA publication No.
3227, PP 345-358, 1993.
7. M.E. Motamedi, et al, “Micro-optics
integration with focal plane arrays, ” Optical
Eng. vol. 36, No. 5, p.p. 1374-1382, May
1997.
8. M.E. Motamedi, et al, “Optical
transformer and collimator for fiber
coupling,” will be published in proceeding of
upcoming SPIE conference on
"Miniaturized Systems with Micro-optics
and Micromechanics II," in San Jose, CA, on
February 8–14, 1997. (invited paper)
9. H.O. Sankur, et al, Fabrication of IR
microlens arrays by reactive ion milling,”
SPIE Proceeding of Miniature and Micro-
optics and Micromechanics, 2687, pp 150-
155, 1996
10. M. E. Motamedi, "Merging Micro-optics
with Micromechanics: Micro-Opto-Electro-
Mechanical (MOEM) devices", Critical
Reviews of Optical Science and Technology,
V. CR49, SPIE Annual Meeting, Proceeding
of Diffractive and Miniaturized Optics, page
302-328, July, 1993

Bibliography
P. Rai-Choudhury (editor), MEMS and
MOEMS. Technology and applications,
 SPIE Press, Washington, 2000.

See also
Micro-electro-mechanical systems
(MEMS)
Optical MEMS: From micromirrors to
complex systems, IEEE Journal of
Microelectromechanical Systems (2014)
Nanoelectromechanical systems
(NEMS)

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