Positioning accuracy characterization of assembled microscale components for micro-optical benches

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to deal with the measurement of positioning accuracies of microscale components assembled to fabricate micro-optical benches (MOB). Design/methodology/approach – The concept of MOB is presented to explain how to fabricate optical MEMS based on out-of-plane micro-assembly of microcomponents. This micro-assembly platform includes a laser sensor that enables to measure the position of the microcomponent after its assembly. The measurement set-up and procedure is displayed and applied on several micro-assembly sets. Findings – The measurement system provides results with maximum deviation smaller than ±0.005°. Based on this measurement system and micro-assembly procedure displayed in the article, it is shown that it is possible to obtain a positioning accuracy up to 0.009°. Originality/value – These results clearly show that micro-assembly is a possible way to fabricate complex, heterogeneous and 3D optical MEMS with very good optical performances.