In-plane vibration characterization of microelectromechanical systems using acousto-optic modulated partially incoherent stroboscopic imaging

A technique using acousto-optic modulated partially incoherent stroboscopic imaging for measurement of in-plane motion of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is presented. Vibration measurement is allowed by using flashes of the partially incoherent light source to freeze the positions of the microstructure at 12 equally spaced phases of the vibration period. The first-order diffracted beam taken out by an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) from the light beam of a laser is made partially incoherent by a rotating diffuser and then serves as the stroboscopic light source. Both the MEMS excitation signal and the flash control signal are provided by a dual-channel function generator. The main advantage of this measurement method is the absence of a stroboscopic generator and a high speed digital camera. Microscale prototypes are fabricated and tested. Quantitative estimates of the harmonic responses of the prototypes are obtained from the recorded images. The results agree with those obtained with a commercial MEMS motion analyzer^TM with relative errors less than 2%.