text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Apr 30, 2002
|Filing date
|Nov 16, 2000
|Priority date
|Nov 16, 2000
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Jonathan S. Kane, Gareth A. Hughes
|Original Assignee
|Jonathan S. Kane, Gareth A. Hughes
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (39), Classifications (35), Legal Events (8)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The present invention relates to a method of making an optical beam switching device described herein and which is claimed in co-pending application 09/714,253 filed on the same day as this invention namely Nov. 16, 2000.
The growing demand for increased data rate transmission throughout communication networks has recently created tremendous interest in the field of fiber optic telecommunication. With the deployment of fiber optic cables and the use of dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM), optical data transmission has allowed much greater transmission rates in comparison to its electrical counterpart. Fiber optic cables, each carrying multiple wavelengths of light, are replacing metallic cables. Each wavelength of light denotes a data channel in similar fashion to the multiplexed frequencies that denote television channels traveling through an electrical coaxial cable. Transmission of each optical signal begins with a wavelength-tuned light source at the entrance of the fiber optic cable. Each data channel or wavelength requires a light source emitting at the appropriate wavelength. The optical signals then travel throughout the network and are eventually delivered to the proper destination.
For each data stream to reach its destination, several different components located at junctions throughout the optical network are required. At these junctions, the components must perform tasks such as adding and dropping data from the optical stream, multiplexing and de-multiplexing of the data into and out of the fiber carrier, and switching and routing each data signal between optical fibers to reach its intended destination. In current fiber optic networks, many of these tasks are performed by opto-electronic components such that incoming photonic signals are converted to electrical signals before being manipulated at these junctions. For example, as an optical data stream arrives at a switching node to be switched onto another fiber, each optical signal is first converted into an electrical signal, which is then transmitted through an electrical circuit. The signals are then directed throughout the electrical circuit to the entrance of the appropriate fiber. The electrical signals must then be converted back to their optical forms before being passed along to the targeted fiber. The optical signals continue to travel throughout the optical network, transforming between optical and electrical states until the intended destination is reached.
As the demand for bandwidth increases, more opto-electronic components will be necessary to handle the increased data traffic. Additionally, existing opto-electronic interfaces currently being used cannot be utilized as advances in optical transmission are achieved. Therefore, as light sources develop and more wavelengths are transmitted along a fiber, existing opto-electronic components will need to be replaced. Furthermore, as more opto-electronic devices are deployed, more electrical power is consumed. The added cost of power consumption and the cost and time needed for device replacement has created a demand for alternative methods of photonic signal direction throughout fiber optic networks. The inherent non-scalability of existing opto-electronic interfaces presents a bottleneck in the progression of next-generation telecommunications.
One proposed remedy is the use of optical devices that maintain the transmitting signals in the optical domain while switching and cross connecting from fiber to fiber such that no opto-electronic conversions are required. A method currently being market tested and also being proposed in the present invention is the use of micromirror arrays to reflect light from a fiber entering the junction to a targeted fiber for continuation of the signal to its appropriate destination. Through the use of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) techniques, micromirror arrays containing individually movable mirrors can be accurately manufactured.
Current MEMS micromirror arrays developed and being tested for fiber optic switching are actuated via either electrostatic or electromagnetic forces. The most common method of actuation in MEMS-based devices is currently electrostatic actuation. Such devices typically take the form of air-gap capacitors comprising a movable top electrode, a fixed bottom electrode, and air as the dielectric between the electrodes. Electrostatic forces between the electrodes causes motion in the freely movable top electrode. One limitation of electrostatic devices is the air-gap thickness, which dictates the range of motion for the top electrode. Furthermore as the air gap increases, greater voltage is required for actuation. Since it is an air gap the problem of stiction arises where the top mirror can be stuck to the bottom electrode, hence making the device useless. This problem known as "stiction" is common to these types of devices. This can occur even during the fabrication process which results in lowered yields.
Electromagnetic MEMS-based devices utilize magnetic materials co-deposited onto the device along with coils external to the device for magnetic field generation. Such devices present a solution to the air-gap restrictions of electrostatic devices, although low voltage operation is still a challenge. Furthermore, the added need for external coils creates a larger device profile.
Therefore, there is still a demand for small form factor, low voltage operating optical switches for enabling all-optical networking. Such a device is a piezoelectrically actuated micromirror. An applied voltage across a piezoelectric material, such as quartz, barium titanate, and lead zirconium titanate, deforms the material proportionally to the voltage being applied. This deformation can be used as an actuating mechanism. Piezoelectric materials are widely used in applications where precise actuation is required such as atomic force microscopy and linear micro-positioning for electron beam lithography. Until recently, most applications have used bulk piezoelectric ceramics that required high voltage for operation. To take advantage of the precise positioning of piezoelectric actuation in MEMS devices, thin film piezoelectric materials have been developed utilizing deposition techniques such as sol-gel, metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and sputtering. With the use of thin film piezoelectric materials, much lower operating voltages can be utilized in comparison to bulk piezoelectric materials.
In contrast with the following prior art, the present invention uses a coplanar arrangement of extremely thin, very low voltage operated cantilevered actuators and mirrors such that one or more actuators are located on each side of each mirror enabling highly precise multi-axial motion of each mirror, often in push-pull mode.
Examples of MEMS micro-actuators utilizing piezoelectric elements can be found outlined by Furuhata and Hirano, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,351,412, 5,489,812, and 5,709,802 and by Motamedi et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5903380. The inventions proposed by Furuhata and Hirano incorporate a laminated structure formed by bonding metalized piezoelectric elements to the MEMS fabricated structure. A shortcoming of this device and method is the process of bonding a piezoelectric element to another substrate. The said method must utilize piezoelectric elements that can be adequately handled and positioned, this implies a larger operating voltage than the use of a deposited thin piezoelectric film which can be on the order of several microns thick or less. Furthermore, the efficiency of actuation is dependent upon the placement accuracy and bonding efficacy between the piezoelectric element and the MEMS structure. These shortcomings are resolved in the present invention by utilizing thin film deposition techniques and accurate photolithography. Motamedi at al. outline in their invention a low voltage optical resonator comprising sputtered zinc oxide (ZnO) as the piezoelectric material and claim operating voltages of 2 volts AC. Piezoelectric materials such as PZT have higher piezoelectric coefficients in comparison to ZnO, which provide larger actuation for a given applied voltage as claimed in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,758,199: Thaxter, "Piezoelectrically Actuated Light Deflector"
This is a bulk device. We employ thin films and microfabrication methods for manufacturing, enabling high volume, precision manufacturing. Column 3 (line 35) mentions the use of epoxy for bonding the various parts together, which implies bulk materials. In addition, the use of microfabrication methods with our invention enables the manufacture of devices with much smaller form factor than this invention. A smaller device will have higher resonance frequency enabling faster switching and a much lower operating voltage. Column 2 (line 31) describes the cantilever actuator motion; the device is utilizing the extension mode of operation. One cantilever pushes up on the mirror while the other cantilever pulls down. Our design uses coplanar cantilevers utilizing a flexural mode of operation. This again enables the manufacture of a small form factor device and lends itself to microfabrication methods. Also, in column 2 (line 42), hinges are mentioned. The hinges link the cantilevers to the underside of the mirror at 90-degree angles and articulate when the cantilevers are actuated. This configuration will concentrate the stress directly at the 90-degree elbow in the hinge, which could cause premature fatigue failure. Our design uses a coplanar configuration of the hinge, cantilevers, and mirror creating no stress concentrations. Furthermore, the hinges and supporting structure located underneath the mirror and actuators for our design are fabricated of the same material, which again enables the use of microfabrication methods. Again in Column 2 (line 35) and FIG. 1, the author discloses a mirror that is at right angles to the PZT material. In other words as the PZT material flexes the mirror is rotated. In our case the cantilever are coplanar to the mirror surface and attached through hinges in the coplanar geometry. So not only is our form factor smaller as mentioned above but the entire geometry is different.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,566: Frank et al., "Lever-action Mountings for Beam Steerer Mirrors"
This is another bulk device having similar disadvantages as Thaxter mentioned above. As in Thaxter, Frank's hinge arrangement concentrates the stress at the elbow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,584: Ghetto et al., "Integrated Microelectromechanical Polymeric Photonic Switching Arrays"
Waveguide arrays are fabricated and switching between the waveguides occurs by actuating a portion of one waveguide causing it to come into contact with an adjacent waveguide. Light propagating through the first waveguide is then transferred to the adjacent waveguide. Some loss will occur with this approach as the light passes through the electrodes located between the waveguides. In addition, sacrificial etching is used to creating air gaps, which pose stiction problems during fabrication.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,350: Koh, "Method and Apparatus for Providing a Seamless Electrical/optical Multilayer Micro-optico-elettro-mechanical System Assembly"
This patent discloses the use of flip chip bonding and, wafer bonding to form multichip modules. Firstly, the mirrors in this case are fixed; they are only used to direct incoming light to a photodetector located above the mirror. This is essentially a compact optoelectronic device. However, the patent uses a couple of low temperature materials, optical epoxy and polyimide, in their structure. The flip chip bonding technique mentioned is C4 bonding which is a solder reflow type and typically occurs around 250 deg. C. This temperature could also cause reflow in the polyimide and optical epoxy rendering their device useless. The device of the present invention does not have such temperature constraints and we employ a polymer flip chip approach, which utilizes a lower temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,321: Stern, "Micromechanical Optical Switch and Flat Panel Display"
This invention depicts a different optical switch primarily for display applications utilizing electrostatic actuation. Display applications require less speed and have little or no positioning stringency for the actuated mirror. Typically, the mirror needs to move at frame rate (30 Hz) and deflects light such that the pixel attributed to the mirror is either on or off. For our device, the optical switch must be switchable at higher speeds (1 kHz) and have accurate positioning for directing optical traffic to the appropriate fiber. Although, flip chip bonding is mentioned, but no details are described. There are several different methods of flip chip bonding and furthermore, Stern mentions the possible use of polymeric materials in their device which could pose problems when flip chip bonding as previously mentioned in connection with the Koh patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,780: McDonald, "Non-contacting Micromechanical Optical Switch"
This invention depicts an electrostatic mirror for optical switching. This device is only utilized in one dimension, up and down with respect to the substrate. The arrangement of the cantilevers shown in FIG. 1b could allow for tilting action perhaps somewhat similar to our device, however, the axis of rotation will not be through the center of the mirror. The axis of rotation for this device if used for tilting would be located along the imaginary line through the mirror formed by connecting opposing cantilevers at points where they are attached to the mirror. This motion would cause an elongating stress to the other 2 cantilevers not being used for actuation as the mirror will pull away from these remaining 2 cantilevers. The design of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, places each cantilever at the center of each edge, so that when 2 opposing cantilevers are actuated, the remaining 2 non-actuated mirrors are only slightly torsionally rotated. This motion induces much less stress than elongation, which can produce premature creep in a material. FIG. 2 and the middle of column 3 suggest that the device can be run in a tilting mode. The tilting is describes as more of a "torqueing" of the mirror surface than actually tilting the mirror. With this torqueing, much stress will be induced with this geometry and thus the "torqueing" provides very limited angular motion. The electrode structures suggested in FIG. 3a-c are used for fine tuning of the mirror location. More electrodes provide for finer tuning which is necessary for accurate optical switching between fibers. However, each electrode must have an electrical connection and, therefore, more electrodes require more connections which make the overall size of the device larger. Our preferred design of the present invention utilizing piezoelectric actuation, has fine tuning through the use of only varying the driving voltage; piezoelectric actuators inherently provide precise positioning. Finally, the reference "To CMOS" in FIG. 1a refers to the MEMS device which was fabricated on the top of a CMOS-processed silicon wafer. Essentially the MEMS device was built up on the silicon substrate, which already had the CMOS, patterned. Flip chip bonding is not implied here. Note that for this device to work, it is required that the reflective surfaces be aligned with the device. In other words the reflective surfaces shown in the cover page figure (number 32 in the figure) are an intrinsic part of the device. Our device will tilt via the actuators, they will not just move up and down. Also a fundamental difference is that this is essentially an air gap capacitor so that there is a limit to the distance of motion (that of the air gap). In our invention, with a cantilever driving structure there is no air gap and hence no problems with stiction (the mirror sticking on the bottom) or limitations in depth due to air gap size.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,007: Carr et al., "Multi-dimensional Physical Actuation of Microstructures"
This invention describes several actuation structures and mechanism. The invention mostly concentrates on thermal actuation, the use of a bimorph structure with 2 materials of different TCEs (thermal coefficients of expansion), essentially a thermocouple. Such thermal actuation methods can provide large motion, but at the sacrifice of speed. The material must heat up and cool down which is much slower than the motion of an electron (electrostatic actuation) or dipole switching (piezoelectric actuation). This invention has a few piezoelectric and electrostrictive references, however, the author seems to interchange the two terms. Piezoelectric materials are not the same as electrostrictive (see column 5, line 25). They are classified by crystal structure; piezoelectrics are asymmetrical whereas electrostrictive materials are symmetrical. A piezoelectric material, such as PZT, is first poled to align the dipoles allowing for actuation. An electrostrictive material, such as PMN, is actuated by continuously applying a DC voltage to the material and then varying the voltage amplitude. Furthermore, the motion induced by either piezoelectric or electrostrictive means is created from the transferal of stress from the actuating material to the underlying structure and not by "differential stress" typical of thermal actuation as mentioned in column 5, line 39. This particular invention seems more concerned with larger actuation than on precise, fast actuation that we are proposing for the optical switch of the present invention. The preferred embodiment is detailed in FIG. 3 (see column 3, line 15 reference) as with all of the descriptions this is a cantilever structure that does not rely on hinging but instead places the cantilever directly under the mirror structure and relies on the bending of the cantilever. Ours is a hinged device. Furthermore they do not have the two dimensional push-pull action disclosed in our invention.
In comparison to the cross connect optical switch proposed by Solgaard et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,859), several improvements are rendered with our invention. The switch by Solgaard utilizes polysilicon micromachining technology, a subset of MEMS technology. In polysilicon micromachining, the structural material is polysilicon and sacrificial etches are used to create freestanding structures. One inherent problem with polysilicon is the intrinsic stress of the deposited thin film. The intrinsic stress can be great enough to cause buckling or even fracturing of the freestanding structure. Additionally, the use of sacrificial etching to remove the sacrificial layer from underneath the polysilicon can create stiction problems. Stiction can occur after the sacrificial etch causing the polysilicon structure to become permanently stuck to the substrate, thus no longer achieving a freestanding structure. Furthermore, the invention utilizes a landing electrode, which stops the mirror at the appropriate location. This mechanism is typically used in electrostatic actuation due to the inherent flutter that can occur with this type of actuation. The use of a landing electrode can pose problems with contact wear after numerous cycles of the actuators and mirrors hitting the landing electrode. Finally, the said invention utilizes electrostatic torsional actuation, which calls for complex driving circuitry. In order to achieve precise control of the mirror, the location of the rotation axis must be also controlled. Due to the mirror being a floating structure, the axis of rotation can move as the mirror is moved. Such action can produce a wobbling effect unless proper control of the rotation axis is achieved.
Our present invention addresses and improves upon the above short falls of the Solgaard invention. Firstly, our structural material is low stress silicon nitride. Much lower intrinsic stress is observed in this material in comparison to polysilicon. Therefore, flatter structures can be manufactured. Secondly, sacrificial etching is not used in our invention to create freestanding structures. Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of the substrate is used to completely remove the substrate material from beneath the mirrors and actuators of our invention. Therefore, stiction will not be a problem, as no substrate will remain underneath any of the moving structures. Thirdly, our optical switch uses piezoelectric actuation. With piezoelectric actuation, no landing electrode is necessary. Therefore, contact wear will not be a problem. Finally, the piezoelectric actuators are used in a flexural mode, therefore, with the inherent linearity of piezoelectric materials, much simpler driving circuitry can be used.
In comparison to the optical matrix switch proposed by Laor (U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,860), the Solgaard patent proposes electromagnetic actuation for each of the mirrors in the optical matrix. The mirror itself is a gimbal mounted structure allowing 2-axis motion. Several issues can be foreseen with such a design. Firstly, to achieve electromagnetic actuation, chip mounted electromagnetic elements (such as coils) must be located around each mirror. This entails a manufacturing challenge due to the necessary placement and mounting of each electromagnetic element around each mirror. Such elements are difficult, if not, impossible to fabricate with current MEMS-compatible processes. Therefore, such fabrication and placement of said electromagnetic elements involves additional processes, further complicating the manufacturing process. Secondly, the overall size of each packaged mirror must be adequately large enough in order to accurately place each said electromagnetic element. Therefore, larger mirror chips are typically required when compared to mirrors that are electrostatically or piezoelectrically actuated. Finally, each mirror must be adequately spaced apart so that fringe field effects are minimized from each of the electromagnetic elements. If mirror spacing is not large enough, the magnetic fields emanating from electromagnetic elements surrounding one particular mirror may induce unwanted magnetic effects in other surrounding mirrors. To finalize the critique of electromagnetic mirror arrays, one can see that as the mirror array contains more mirrors, the overall size of the unit containing the whole mirror array can become quite large in comparison to electrostatic or piezoelectric devices.
Our present invention greatly improves on the size requirements for electromagnetic mirror arrays by using both piezoelectric actuation and CMOS driving circuitry, which is packaged with each mirror array. The use of piezoelectric actuation enables all materials and structures required to be fabricated utilizing existing MEMS processes and takes advantage of the manufacturing capabilities thereof. Furthermore, the actuators for each mirror are spatially and accurately located within microns of the mirror. This is again achievable due to the use of existing photolithographic processes currently available in the MEMS and semiconductor industries. Finally, the use of extremely thin film piezoelectric material requires less than 5V DC for full actuation which enables each mirror array to be packaged with its own CMOS-compatible driving circuitry creating a small form factor module.
Min et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,083), proposes similar thin film piezoelectric actuation. However, each actuated mirror is located above its respective cantilever actuator enabling only single axis motion. Our present invention uses a coplanar arrangement of the actuators and mirrors such that one or more actuators are located on each side of each mirror enabling multi-axial motion of each mirror. Furthermore, the said invention is proposed for the purpose of image projection and is concerned only with frame rate oscillations, which typically occur at a cycle rate of 30 Hz. The purpose of our present invention is for the redirection of light from fiber optic cables which will require accurate positioning and much faster response times on the order of 1 millisecond (1000 Hz).
The present invention involves a method of making the novel micro-mirror light beam switch described herein, and claimed in the aforesaid copending application, the switch having a thin flexible movable support member for supporting a thin central reflective mirror surface thereon and for supporting a plurality of thin unimorph or bimorph piezoelectric cantilevered mirror actuators, mechanically coupled between a fixed substrate and movable hinging portions of the thin movable support member. The method employs thin film deposition techniques and photolithography for readily forming the extremely thin switch, whereby the components thereof are substantially co-planar. A silicon nitride or silicon dioxide support member layer is deposited over a silicon substrate and two metallic electrode layers and a piezoelectric layer are thereafter deposited upon the support member layer. Then, these layers are etched away to form extremely thin piezoelectric actuators that can be driven by low voltage CMOS driver circuitry. The support member layer is also etched away to form a flexible actuator support member, and finally a reflective mirror surface is deposited on the underside of the flexible actuator support member.
The micro-optical switch made in accordance with the method claimed herein below utilizes a piezoelectric material, preferably PZT for low voltage micro-mirror actuation with highly accurate positioning, and greatly improves on the size requirements for electromagnetic mirror arrays by using both piezoelectric actuation and CMOS driving circuitry, which is packaged with each mirror array. In other words the drive voltage can be analog, digital or binary as required. The use of piezoelectric actuation enables all materials and structures required to be fabricated utilizing existing MEMS processes and takes advantage of the manufacturing capabilities thereof.
Furthermore, the actuators for each mirror are spatially and accurately located within microns of the mirror. This is again achievable due to the use of existing photo-lithographic processes currently available in the MEMS and semiconductor industries. Finally, the use of extremely thin film non-bulk piezoelectric material only requires less than 5V DC for full actuation which enables each mirror array to be packaged with its own CMOS-compatible driving circuitry creating a small form factor module.
The novel micro-optical switch comprises a MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical Systems) micromirror array with packaged CMOS driving circuitry. Extremely thin micro-mirrors and PZT actuators are employed so that these components are substantially co-planar. The low operating voltage of the MEMS non-bulk extremely thin mirror actuators enable the use of typical 5-volt or less CMOS circuitry. The appropriate driving circuitry can be processed separate from the MEMS fabrication with the final device being a hybrid of a MEMS chip and a CMOS chip bonded together. In the currently most preferred embodiment of the switch, each square micro-mirror in the array is comprised of a centrally located, highly reflective material of known composition and thickness, coupled around its periphery to the movable ends of four orthogonal cantilever structures. The movable end of each actuator is coupled to the mirror periphery via flexible hinge portions of the silicon-based support sheet member. The silicon substrate is preferentially removed from beneath each central mirror area to enable forming this thin flexible mirror and actuator silicon-based support sheet member for supporting a reflective mirror surface and the movable portions of the actuators. The four orthogonal extremely thin cantilever actuators are thus coupled to each reflective mirror surface via hinging portions of the flexing support sheet, to form a floating device for each mirror. Each cantilevered actuator is attached to the fixed array substrate only at its fixed end. Furthermore, each cantilever actuator structure is of a unimorph or bimorph construction consisting of a patterned thin film of known thickness such as silicon nitride or silicon dioxide for structural support and a PZT capacitor as the actuator.
By applying a low voltage to each extremely thin PZT actuator capacitor, the stress induced in the PZT material creates a stress in the attached support material. The transferal of stress to the support material, which is anchored to the substrate at one end in similar fashion to a diving board, causes upward or downward motion to occur at the opposite movable end of the cantilever, dependent upon on the polarity of the applied voltage. Additionally, the amount of motion can be precisely controlled through control of the applied voltage. Each cantilever structure, coupled to each side of the square micro-mirror via a hinge member, is individually addressable, allowing multi-axial movement of each micro-mirror. Thin and flexible support sheet portions adjacent movable terminal portions of the cantilevered actuators, act as stress relieving hinge flexing areas, relieving stress from the stiffer actuators.
To achieve a tilting motion about an axis, the PZT actuators located perpendicular to the desired axis of rotary mirror motion, are addressed with opposing potentials such that one cantilever moves upward while the opposing cantilever moves downward. This in turn tilts the mirror about the desired axis. Also, by applying opposing potentials to the remaining two cantilevers in similar fashion, 2-axis motion is realized. Finally, through the application of equal polarity to all actuators, a parallel motion with respect to the substrate can be achieved. This precisely controlled, multi-axial motion of each micro-mirror provides the accuracy and low voltage operation necessary for the rapid switching of optical traffic from fiber to fiber in the next-generation optical networks.
The various features of the invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIG. 1a is a top view of an array of sixteen micro-mirrors on a silicon substrate, each including four actuators for providing two dimensional steering of light beams;
FIG. 1b discloses an isometric view of the array structure of FIG. 1a;
FIGS. 1c and 1 d show a top view and an isometric view respectively of a single presently preferred micro-mirror of the invention;
FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional view taken through A—A of FIG. 1c;
FIGS. 2-10 indicate various steps in the preferred process of making a preferred embodiment of a micro-mirrors;
FIG. 11 shows another embodiment using a hexagonal central mirror which can provide for a higher mirror packing density;
FIG. 11a shows the addition of mirror layer 12 to the structure shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 shows another embodiment using a gimbal ring design for two axis motion;
FIG. 13 shows a further embodiment having pairs of parallel actuators along two parallel side portions of the mirror support structure.
FIG. 14 shows a further embodiment wherein the actuators are positioned in parallel with respect to the mirror area edge portions, providing a compact design;
FIG. 15 shows a further embodiment employing PZT stack actuators.
FIG. 1a discloses a sample array of 16 micro-mirrors 6 with actuator 1 a mounted upon silicon substrate 7.
FIG. 1b is an isometric view of the array of FIG. 1a. FIG. 1c is a top view of a single mirror 6, controlled by four actuators 1 a. A small fixed portion of each actuator is attached to the substrate 7 for anchoring, such that a cantilever structure like a diving board is created. Movable end portions of each actuator are flexibly coupled to the central mirror support via narrow flexible tabs, functioning as hinging areas 4 of the support sheet. See also tab portions 4 in FIG. 9. The hinging areas reduce potentially damaging actuator stress concentrations.
FIG. 1d is an isometric view of single mirror element 6. The actual reflective mirror surface is located underneath the central square structure 6 a such that the light source emits an upward light beam through the defined areas in the silicon substrate 7 and is reflected by the reflective mirror surface. Again, each actuator, composed of a PZT capacitor 1 ais anchored to the substrate 7 as shown at 7 a.
FIG. 1 below shows a cross sectional view of the optical switch taken through A—A of FIG. 1c. The support material of substrate 7 of FIG. 1, provides mechanical support for both the PZT actuator 1 a and mirror (6). Each PZT actuator comprises unimorph thin film PZT layer 2 sandwiched between upper electrode 1 and lower electrode 3 to form the cantilever structures above the thin movable support sheet member (5). As mentioned later, FIG. 15 shows actuator stacks of multiple thin films which could thus employ multiple PZT layers rather than a single less complex unimorph layer. The mirror (6) is deposited on the underside of the easily flexed support sheet (5). Aforesaid hinge potions shaped as narrow tabs (4) of FIG. 1c and 1 d are advantageously just areas within the support material located between the PZT actuators 1 a and the mirror section 6, rather than discreet hinge devices. Thus the hinge areas are integral with the flexing support sheet (5) and are sufficiently thin and hence flexible so as to act as stress relieving hinge flexing areas, relieving stress from the stiffer actuators. The thickness is small enough to provide these flexible hinge regions 4 between each actuator and the edges of mirror 6 and thus permitting mirror motion and also providing the desired benefit of elimination of stress concentrations. In other words support sheet portions 4 adjacent movable terminal potions of the cantilevered actuators act as stress relieving hinge flexing areas, relieving stress from the actuators.
As explained below, the substrate (7) is removed from areas underneath the mirror area (6) to expose the reflective surface of mirror 6 to the light beams to be switched, as mentioned above in connection with FIG. 1d, and to allow for easy motion of the PZT actuators. The support material (5) is supported on each end by the fixed array substrate (7) as shown. Low voltages are applied by voltage sources 15 a and 15 b to the aforesaid electrodes 1 and 3. The voltage sources would actually comprise CMOS transistorized driving circuitry chip bonded at upper portions of FIG. 1. Having the voltage sources apply similar potentials to each piezoelectric cantilevered actuator 1 a will flex the cantilevers in the same direction and produce motion parallel to the substrate. Applying opposing potentials to the cantilevers, indicated in FIG. 1, will produce a tilting motion around the axis located through the center of the mirror 6. Presently preferred materials for the piezoelectric unimorph actuator layer 2 are selected from the group consisting of quartz, barium titanate, polyvinylidene fluoride and lead zirconium titanate (PZT), the latter being most preferred.
A preferred method of making the switch involves the following steps.
Step #1: as indicated by FIG. 2, begin with a double side polished or single sided polished silicon wafer substrate (7). Deposit LPCVD (low pressure chemical vapor deposition) Silicon Nitride or Silicon Dioxide layer 8, 1-3 microns thick, by LPCVD (?? Chemical vapor deposition. This will be the support member 5 of FIG. 1.
Step #2: As indicated by FIG. 3, sputter or evaporate bottom electrode material (9), preferably of 100-300 Angstroms of titanium for adhesion along with 1000-1500 angstroms of platinum on top.
Step #3: As indicated by FIG. 4, deposit PZT material (10) using (metal oxide chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), or SolGel Process, 0.5 to 1 micron thick.
Step #4: As indicated by FIG. 5, sputter or evaporate Top Electrode (11) typically 1000-1500 Angstroms of platinum or gold.
Step #5: As indicated by FIG. 6, etch top platinum electrode (11) using ion milling to form top electrode structure.
Step #6: As indicated by FIG. 7, etch PZT member (10) using either ion milling or, for a much faster etch, an ultrasonic chemical bath containing a mixture of HF:HCI:DI water (1:15:284).
Step #7: As indicated by FIG. 8, etch bottom platinum and titanium adhesion layer (9) to form bottom electrode.
Step #8: As indicated by FIG. 9, etch support material (8) using reactive ion etching to form support structures for the PZT actuators (shown as top electrode 11) and the mirror (not shown). Top view is shown with PZT stacks covered with electrode (11). The PZT capacitor stack is covering underlying support material (8 a) The flexing hinge portions of the support member are located (4) between the PZT stacks and the central square region of support material (8).
Thus as indicated in FIG. 9, taken in conjunction with FIG. 1c and 1 d, the support layer portions 8 a surrounding the optical switch are etched away by conventional etching methods within the area 8 a except for the support layer portions 8 underlying the central mirror area and the areas underlying the actuators shown as upper electrode areas 11 and the hinge areas 4. The resulting product is as shown in FIG. 1c and 1 d mounted at areas 7 a within an associated aperture of substrate 7.
Step #9: As indicated by FIG. 10, etch substrate from beneath the support material (8) using deep reactive ion etching. This will create a free-floating central area with cantilevered actuators 1 a in FIG. 1 on each side.
Step #10: As indicated by FIG. 11a, deposit mirror material (12) using evaporation and pattern using lift-off. Photoressist for lift-off patterning is the same photoresist pattern used for prior deep reactive ion etch step of step #9.
In order to drive the device by moving the actuators 1 a, the electrodes 1 and 3 are taken out to bonding pads, not shown. These bonding pads are typically contacted via the widely used method known as flip chip bonding where a second microelectronic package having five volt CMOS driving circuitry, is brought into contact with the bonding pads electrically. This process is well known in the industry. The steps to form the insulating layers and metal interconnection and bonding pads for flip chip bonding have been omitted for simplification. Typical sputtering or evaporation techniques are used for metal interconnection and bonding pad deposition, and typically wet etching or ion milling is used for patterning the metal interconnection and bonding pads. Insulating layers are either silicon dioxide or silicon nitride and are deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Vias are patterned into the insulating layers using reactive ion etching.
To summarize, the use of thin film piezoelectric actuation enables all materials and structures required to be fabricated, utilizing existing MEMS processes and the art of photo-lithography. The actuators for each mirror are spatially and accurately located within microns of the mirror by virtue of known photolithographic processes currently available in the MEMS and semiconductor industries. Finally, the use of extremely thin film piezoelectric material requires less than 5V DC for full actuation, which enables each mirror array to be packaged with its own CMOS-compatible driving circuitry creating a small form factor module.
In the embodiment of FIG. 11, a hexagonal central mirror is provided for producing higher mirror packing densities across the array substrate 7 by removing the corners from the movable support mirror areas 6 as shown. Four orthogonal actuators 1 a coupled to the mirrors via the aforesaid flexible hinge regions 4, achieve two axis motion as before with the opposing voltage potentials shown in FIG. 1.
The FIG. 12 embodiment uses a gimbal ring design for two axis motion as shown. The central portion is the mirror area 6 with two inner actuators 1 a and two outer actuators located in perpendicular fashion. Inner actuators 1 a are attached to the mirror portion 6 and to the outer support ring 5 a which is in turn attached to the outer actuators 1 a that are in turn attached to the substrate 7. For motion about the vertically oriented y-axis, the outer actuators are used in flexure motion with opposing voltage potentials. For motion about the horizontally oriented x-axis, the inner actuators are used in flexure motion with opposing voltage potentials.
The FIG. 13 embodiment utilizes actuators 1 a and hinge areas 4 that are on opposing sides of the mirror 6 as shown. For motion about the x-axis, the upper actuator 1 a above the x-axis will have similar applied potential but opposite in polarization to the lower actuators. For motion about the y-axis, the actuators to the right of the y-axis will have similar applied potential but opposite in polarization to the left-hand actuators. Greater deflection may be achieved with this embodiment due to the lack of constraint on the top and bottom sides of the support material, however there may be a decrease in stability in comparison with embodiment with hinges and actuators on all four sides.
The FIG. 14 embodiment shows actuator 1 a positioned in parallel with respect to edge portions of mirror 6. The actuators are coupled to the central mirror area via hinge or tab portions 4. This embodiment can provide greater compactness of the actuated mirrors relative to most of the aforesaid embodiments.
While a single piezoelectric capacitor is presently preferred, actuators could be employed as shown in FIG. 15. Four stacked PZT capacitors are shown for each actuator, each capacitor having electrodes 9 and 11 positioned above and below the PZT layer 10. Mirror surface 12, support layer 8 and substrate 7 are also illustrated.
The following further design details may be helpful to the skilled worker in the art.
Layer Thicknesses
The thicknesses of the metal layers used for the PZT capacitor stack, platinum and titanium, are typical of thicknesses used for metal connections and adhesion layers. Therefore, the values of 100-300 angstroms of titanium and 1000-1500 angstroms of platinum are used to provide adequate adhesion and metal connection. In comparison to the thicknesses of the other layers (PZT, mirror, support material), the metal layers are much thinner and, therefore, the influence on the mechanical properties of the overall structure is negligible.
The thickness of the support material, which can be either silicon dioxide or silicon nitride, is a major factor regarding both the resonance of the overall structure and the mechanical stability. Firstly, the resonance of the overall structure is proportional to both the device geometry and its mechanical properties as shown below for a simple cantilever beam derived; from the Bernoulli-Euler beam equation:
t=material thickness
L=material length
E=Young's modulus of material
ρ=material density
Therefore, a thicker support material will provide a higher resonance, which will produce a faster switch. Shorter lengths will also provide a higher resonance; however, shorter cantilevers will provide less deflection in comparison to longer cantilevers under similar actuation. So, optimization of the dimensions of the cantilevers must be made to achieve the desired amount of deflection with the desired switch speed, i.e., a faster switch may sacrifice amount of deflection. Although, by varying the thickness and cantilever dimensions, switches can be tailored for specific applications. A large cross connect array may need greater deflection in order to address a large area of fibers, whereas, an add/drop application may need a faster switch to add or drop traffic at a node to allow traffic to be passed to a local network or passed through.
Also, a stiffer material (higher Young's modulus) or less dense material will provide a higher resonance frequency:. In our case, Young's modulus values for thin film silicon nitride range from 290 to 380 GPa whereas values for thin film silicon dioxide are around 75 GPa. Density values are 3.1 g/cm3 and 2.2 g/cm3 for silicon nitride and silicon dioxide, respectively. However, a stiffer material will provide less deflection at the end of the cantilever, which, in turn, will provide a lower excursion angle for the actuated mirror. This can be seen by the equation for the maximum deflection of a cantilever beam for a given force on the beam shown below:
L=length of cantilever
E=Young's modulus of cantilever
I=moment of inertia of cantilever
The thickness of the PZT layer also factors into the resonance and mechanical stability of the overall structure. Taking into account the 2 equations stated above, similar arguments can be made for the dimensions of the PZT layer. A thicker layer will provide a higher resonance, but will sacrifice the deflection. A longer PZT section will provide greater deflection, but with a lower resonance. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the PZT layer is also the electromechanical coupling layer, i.e., upon application of a voltage to the PZT, mechanical actuation occurs which is proportional to the applied voltage and the dimensions and properties of the PZT. This relationship is shown below:
1=length of PZT section
d=piezoelectric coefficient (in this case, the 1st subscript, 3, denotes electrodes on the top and bottom of the PZT material, and the 2nd subscript, 1, denotes actuation in the transverse direction, i.e., lengthwise.)
V=applied voltage
t=thickness of PZT
Therefore, as the PZT thickness decreases, for a given voltage, the amount of actuation, Δ1, increases. However, a thinner PZT layer has a lower breakdown voltage and, recent research has shown that the piezoelectric coefficient of thin film PZT increases With thickness. Again, one can see that the PZT thickness must be optimized for specific applications with respect to the applied voltage and amount of actuation desired.
The thickness of the mirror material also plays a factor in the overall resonance of the device. Arguments can be made in similar fashion with respect to the support material. Thicker mirror material and smaller mirror area will provide a higher resonance for the overall structure, and thus a faster switch. However, the mirror acts as a counter force against the actuators. Therefore, for a heavier mirror (i.e. thicker, or a larger area), greater actuation force will be required which will require higher voltages or thicker PZT. Furthermore, the mirror area must be large enough to focus the light beam coming from the optical fiber. Also, the thickness must be great enough to provide high reflection in the 1500 nm wavelength range. So, the mirror material must be optimized for the specific application with respect to thickness, mirror area, desired actuation and applied voltage.
Because of the above relationships between material thicknesses, material types, and desired operation of the switch, in-depth optimization must be performed to achieve the desired switch characteristics for given applications. The thickness ranges of the materials mentioned above for our invention lie within the practical means of current microfabrication methods while maintaining the structural integrity of the switch and providing a range of switch speeds application to the field of the invention.
In explanation of the hinges, it would be more appropriate to address them as hinge areas. The hinge areas are different from typical hinges found on a door. The hinge areas are of the same material as the support material over which the PZT actuators and the mirror material are deposited. Essentially, the hinge areas are areas of the support material which are not covered with either PZT or mirror material and is typically the area where the cantilevers attach to the mirror and is usually of smaller width than the cantilever. The hinge areas provide a flexing area, which relieves stress from the cantilevers, and the mirror area upon actuation. The hinge areas will flex more than either the cantilevers or the mirror due to the hinge areas being less wide as shown by the elastic section modulus relationship denoted below assuming a rectangular cross section:
S=elastic section modulus
I=moment of inertia of feature
w=width of feature
t=thickness of feature
A lower elastic section modulus denotes a less stiff area. Therefore, the hinge areas being of less width than the cantilevers or the mirror have a lower elastic section modulus and will flex more. However, the hinge areas also factor into the overall motion of the switch. The hinge areas must be wide enough to provide adequate structural support between the cantilevers and the mirror. The hinge areas must flex enough to enable the desired excursion angle, however, too much flexure can produce spring-like oscillations as the mirror is positioned. Therefore, the elastic section modulus, S, of the hinge area must be high enough to counter the spring-like motion, but low enough to provide adequate flexure to achieve the desired excursion angle. Finally, one can see that the hinge dimensions along with the actuator and mirror dimensions are all related through a set of equations that should be optimized to achieve the best performance of the optical switch.
Since variations in the various described embodiments will become apparent to the skilled worker in the art, the scope of the invention is to be restricted only by the terms of the following claims and art recognized equivalents thereof The term "micro-mirror" is directed to mirrors having a length and width of about 500 microns or less. The terms calling for thin film piezoelectric materials within the actuators are directed to films having a thickness of between 0.5 and 20 microns. Piezoelectric actuator materials can include barium titanate, zinc oxide, zirconium titanate or polyvinylidene fluoride which is a piezoelectric polymer. The currently preferred piezoelectric actuator material is PZT (zirconium titanate), the preferred PZT thickness being within the range of 0.5-1 microns. The "thin movable support member" has a preferred thickness of between 1 and 3 microns, and the thin reflective mirror surface has a preferred thickness of between 0.2 and 1 micron.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Feb 13, 1997
|Jul 25, 2000
|Seiko Epson Corporation
|Optical modulator device, display and electronic apparatus
|Aug 26, 1998
|Mar 13, 2001
|Microoptical Corporation
|Torsional micro-mechanical mirror system
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Mar 6, 2000
|Oct 8, 2002
|Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Limited
|Optical switch and method of making the same
|Jun 15, 2001
|Jun 10, 2003
|Industrial Technology Research Institute
|System of angular displacement control for micro-mirrors
|May 25, 2001
|Aug 12, 2003
|Westar Photonics
|Laser beam shaping device and apparatus for material machining
|Jul 30, 2001
|Oct 21, 2003
|Glimmerglass Networks, Inc.
|Electro ceramic MEMS structure with controlled actuator gap
|Aug 24, 2001
|Oct 21, 2003
|Memscap S.A.
|MEMS optical switches having obliquely angled inputs and outputs relative to a face thereof and moveable reflectors with parallel positions therein and methods of forming same
|Jun 28, 2002
|Nov 4, 2003
|Glimmerglass Networks, Inc.
|MEMS structure with mechanical overdeflection limiter
|Mar 30, 2001
|Jan 13, 2004
|Analog Devices, Inc.
|Method of and architecture for optically switching light communication signals in fiber optic networks and the like
|Aug 24, 2001
|Mar 2, 2004
|Megasense, Inc.
|Rolling mirror apparatus and method of use
|Aug 29, 2001
|May 11, 2004
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Method of fabricating a cooperating array of rotatable microstructure devices
|Dec 4, 2002
|Jul 6, 2004
|Jds Uniphase Corporation
|Articulated MEMS electrostatic rotary actuator
|Sep 7, 2001
|Sep 7, 2004
|Movaz Networks, Inc.
|Multiplexed analog control system for electrostatic actuator array
|Jul 22, 2003
|Oct 19, 2004
|Glimmerglass Networks, Inc.
|MEMS structure with mechanical overdeflection limiter
|Feb 19, 2002
|Aug 30, 2005
|Glimmerglass Networks, Inc.
|Folded longitudinal torsional hinge for gimbaled MEMS mirror
|Aug 19, 2004
|Oct 11, 2005
|Rosemount Aerospace Inc.
|Silicon wafer based macroscopic mirror for wide angle scanning applications
|Jun 11, 2003
|Oct 18, 2005
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Pivoting platform having a piezoelectric drive
|Jun 11, 2003
|Jan 31, 2006
|Texas Instruments Incorporated
|Position sensor for a pivoting platform
|Jul 1, 2003
|Oct 31, 2006
|Rosemount Aerospace Inc.
|Silicon wafer based macroscopic mirror for wide angle scanning applications
|May 18, 2005
|Nov 14, 2006
|Avago Technologies Fiber Ip (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
|Piezoelectrically-activated cantilevered spatial light modulator
|Dec 15, 2006
|Jun 17, 2008
|Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
|Optical modulator
|Mar 3, 2006
|Sep 2, 2008
|Piezomotor Uppsala Ab
|Heat efficient micromotor
|Jun 13, 2005
|Jun 14, 2011
|Stmicroelectronics S.A.
|Assembly of a microswitch and of an acoustic resonator
|Sep 16, 2010
|Feb 2, 2016
|Fabry-perot interferometer with piezoelectric actuator contracting in radial direction on membrane
|Oct 1, 2014
|May 3, 2016
|Actuator having two piezoelectric elements on a membrane
|Dec 4, 2002
|Jan 15, 2004
|Jds Uniphase Corporation
|Articulated MEMS electrostatic rotary actuator
|Jun 11, 2003
|Dec 16, 2004
|Heaton Mark W.
|Position sensor for a pivoting platform
|Jun 11, 2003
|Dec 16, 2004
|Heaton Mark W.
|Pivoting platform having a piezoelectric drive
|Aug 19, 2004
|Jan 27, 2005
|Pesik Joseph T.
|Silicon wafer based macroscopic mirror for wide angle scanning applications
|May 18, 2005
|Nov 23, 2006
|Akihiro Machida
|Piezoelectrically-activated cantilevered spatial light modulator
|Dec 15, 2006
|Jun 28, 2007
|Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.
|Optical modulator
|Mar 3, 2006
|Sep 6, 2007
|Stefan Johansson
|Heat efficient micromotor
|Apr 11, 2007
|Feb 21, 2008
|Waseda University
|Micro-device and electrode forming method for the same
|Jun 22, 2007
|Jun 19, 2008
|Oriental Institute Of Technology
|Auxiliary method for wet etching by oscillation flow modification and device for the same
|Jun 13, 2005
|Nov 20, 2008
|Stmicroelectronics S.A.
|Assembly of a Microswitch and of an Acoustic Resonator
|Nov 11, 2005
|Apr 15, 2009
|Semiconductor device having actuator
|Sep 16, 2010
|Jul 11, 2012
|Actuator for moving a micro mechanical element
|Sep 16, 2010
|Jan 20, 2016
|May 12, 2014
|Sep 3, 2014
|Thermally driven MEMS micro-mirror and 1*N thermally driven MEMS micro-mirror array
|May 12, 2014
|Apr 6, 2016
|Jul 27, 2015
|Nov 4, 2015
|Focal length-adjustable reflector
|U.S. Classification
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Dec 4, 2003
Owner name: COMPUTER OPTICS INC., NEW HAMPSHIRE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KANE, JONATHAN S.;HUGHES, GARETH A.;REEL/FRAME:014743/0745
Effective date: 20031030
|Oct 21, 2005
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Dec 7, 2009
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Jan 13, 2010
|Surcharge for late payment
Year of fee payment: 7
|Jan 13, 2010
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Dec 6, 2013
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Apr 30, 2014
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|Jun 17, 2014
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20140430


text:
My Philosophy and Approach to Wellness...My goal is to manage and anticipate your unique healthcare needs. As an MDVIP-affiliated doctor, I will partner with you on a personal level to help you achieve the optimal health we all value. We will closely collaborate on what it takes to stay on the path to wellness. You will feel welcomed by the relaxed, individualized attention you will receive from everyone in our office.
Physician Profile
- Undergraduate
- University of California Berkeley
- Berkeley, CA
- Bachelor of Arts, Zoology 1979
- UCLA School of Medicine
- Los Angeles, CA
- Pathology Fellowship 1984
- Medical School
- UCLA School of Medicine
- Los Angeles, CA
- Doctorate of Medicine 1985
- Internship
- University of California San Diego and Affiliated Hospitals
- San Diego, CA
- 1985-1986
- Residency
- University of California San Diego and Affiliated Hospitals
- San Diego, CA
- 1986-1988
Hospital Affiliations
- Saint Agnes Medical Center
Honors and Awards
- Consumer's Research Council of America, Guide to America's Top Physicians 2004-2005 Edition
- The Best Doctors in America, Pacific Region 1996-present
- Strathmore's Who's Who 2002-2003 Edition
- The National Registry of Who's Who 2000
- Phi Beta Kappa, University of California Berkeley 1979
- Graduate Cum Laude, University of California Berkeley 1979
Research Experience
- Central Valley Health Policy Institute, National Health Care Policy Clinical Investigator, Lancet Trial
- Happily married to Karen with two children (Marc and Catherine)
CertificationsAmerican Board of Internal Medicine
Patient Testimonials
Member: Wayland
I don't think of my doctor as an mdvil doctor. He's just my doctor--and my friend. He laughs at my jokes and gives me medicine whe...
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A doctor friend recommended Dr. Chooljian. I had lost my husband a few months before and was devastated. It was so comforting to...
Member: Georgia and Patrick
Because of our pre exam which includes blood test, urine sample, hearing and eye tests, etc., when we have our wellness exam a few...
Member: Dave
I'm writing this for my husband - he's what you would call a miracle, but only by the intelligence and knowledge of a dedicated D...

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|<< Previous book
|Next book >>
Game of Shadows(2015)
(The sixth book in the Sean Wyatt series)
A novel by Ernest Dempsey
Someone has discovered a Nazi weapon of incredible power. And their intentions aren't good.
In the final days of World War II, a mysterious German U-boat was seen by a United States naval vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, just north of South America.
Before the ship could fire upon the sub, it vanished.
History tells us that, after the war, the German high command scattered across world hoping to evade punishment for their crimes.
What it doesn't tell us is what they took with them.
Priceless paintings?
Rare sculptures?
Vast treasures?
Many of these things have been discovered but there is one that remains hidden. It was one of the most well-hidden, secretive experiments the Nazis carried out during the war and now someone is trying to unearth it.
If they succeed, it could bring civilization to its knees.
Not if Sean Wyatt can help it.Sean Wyatt quit working for the United States government years ago but after recent events, he's come to realize his particular set of skills might still be needed to keep the world a little safer.
With an evil mastermind behind a twisted plot, Sean is on the clock with less than 72 hours to find a Nazi device known as die glocke before a for-profit terrorist cell known as The Black Ring executes an innocent woman.
Worse, if they get what they want, the terrorists will wreak havoc across the planet.
If you love a great action & adventure story but want none of the profanity, this story is for you. Ernest Dempsey packs his novels with tons of excitement and none of the swearing.
Not sure this novel is for you? Check out all the great reviews from people just like you and see for yourself.
Genre: Inspirational
Similar Books by other authors...
Ultra Deep
William H Lovejoy
The Jack Noble Series: Books 4-6
(Jack Noble)
L T Ryan
Black Flagged Boxset: Books 1-3
(Black Flagged)
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William Hood
Used availability for Ernest Dempsey's Game of Shadows
See all available used copies of this book at Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Paperback Editions
February 2016 : Paperback
|Title: Game of Shadows: A Sean Wyatt Thriller
Author(s): Ernest Dempsey
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA
Kindle Editions
April 2015 : USA, Canada, UK Kindle edition
|Title: Game of Shadows: A Sean Wyatt Action Suspense Fiction Thriller (Sean Wyatt Adventure Thrillers Book 6)
Author(s): Ernest Dempsey
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA
Genre Pages


text:
|Portfolio: Soldier: 76
|<< Dr. Doom | Return to Characters | Mercy >>
Origin: Overwatch
Debut: Wondercon 2017
Josh wanted an Overwatch costume that hadn't been done a million times and was still reasonably comfortable to wear. Soldier: 76's ode to Evel Knievel seemed like the best fit.
Filter image type: finished | in-progress | all


text:
Gardai and family "very concerned" for missing 16-year-old
Gardai are appealing to the public for assistance tracing the whereabouts of a teenage girl.
Officers in Navan, Co. Meath wish are hoping to locate Kaitlyn Doyle (16) who is missing since yesterday
Kaitlyn was last seen in Navan at approximately 11.30pm last night.
When last seen she was wearing blue skinny jeans, a green long sleeve hooded jacket and a beige handbag.
The teen is described as being:
- 5' 8'' tall,
- of slim build,
- with long straight brown hair.
Gardai and Kaitlyn's family are very concerned for her welfare.
They are appealing for anyone who may have seen her or anyone who can assist to contact Navan Garda Station on 046 9036100, the Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.


text:
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text:
Former post-doctoral scholar, Dr. Muscatell, will be starting an Assistant Professor position at UNC Chapel Hill this summer. Congratulations Keely!
Post-doctoral scholar Dr. Park will be leaving the EHPL to start an Assistant Professor position at UMass Amherst this Fall.
Helena will be leaving her position as lab manager of the EHPL to become a psychology doctoral student at UC Berkeley. We will all miss Helena and are grateful for her strong leadership at the EHPL.
Lab moves west
EHPL moves to UCSF.
After 6 great years at Harvard, we are excited to announce that the Emotion, Health and Psychophysiology Lab is moving to University of California, San Francisco. Professor Mendes has accepted the Sarlo/Ekman endowed chair in Emotion in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF and will be setting up EHPL this fall at the Parnassus campus in the Langley Porter Institute. She will be joined by Dr. Koslov who has accepted a research scientist position in the lab, and former EHPL summer intern Kate Reilly will be joining as the lab manager.


text:
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text:
Greetings, I have recently started working in VB, mostly vb6 writen by others and deployed on a network. some of the things I have worked on I copied the executable to the old location and everything worked just fine for all users.
However some of the ones I have touched, certian computers are not able to run the program. all my searching has given me little information, usually talking about DLLs that are or are not in the package. I dont really understand that part, because in one case I simply opened and recompiled the old code and it wont run on about half of my PCs.
all PCs are win 7 64 bit. and I dont see any other glaring differences.
what should I be looking for? or what can I update on all machines to be more unifiom?
Jul 20, 2012 at 8:55 UTC
Got the answer yesterday from the creator, turns out I compiled it on a Win 7 machine and I had to do it on my XP virtual machine for it to run everywhere else.
thanks for the suggestions
9 Replies
Jun 8, 2012 at 1:04 UTC
Which libraries does it say its missing? Sometimes other programs install the required libraries so when you run your-own program on different machines you receive different results. If you have the Pro/Enterprise version of VB6 it should come with a install/setup builder, if you use that it will include all the libraries in the installer, which is better than simply copy/pasting the exe -- VB6 programs can require a lot of libraries, they're never standalone exes.
On a side note: depending on the complexity of the VB6 program you can convert it to .NET.
Jun 8, 2012 at 1:47 UTC
I have to maintain legacy vb6 applications as well. What I do on any machine using them is install the following:
- VB6 run-time files (KB290887-X86)
sometimes I also need the following if it used crystal reports
- crnet11win
- crystl32
The issue your seeing could be because its missing one of the following items from above, or maybe you didnt copy over all of the files and just the .exe, Also depending how you have .net 1.1 locked down this also can prevent it from running on a network location (check control panel->admin tools->.net 1.1 wizards-> adjust security... choose to allow all items.
If none of those items worked could you post the error message you are seeing.
Jun 8, 2012 at 1:59 UTC
- VB6 run-time files (KB290887-X86)
Will the runtime installer work on x64, as he stated that's what he uses? If not, he might have to extract the exe and manually install the files. I still recommend he look into converting to .NET.
Jun 8, 2012 at 4:03 UTC
yes you can install x86 on x64. thats the point of WOW64 in win7
Jul 4, 2012 at 10:08 UTC
That AdamC2009 wrote:
yes you can install x86 on x64. thats the point of WOW64 in win7
That explains why there are absolutely no issues with running x86 apps on Windows x64.
Jul 4, 2012 at 8:28 UTC
Pfff nothing in life is guaranteed specially with computers since there are so many variables. But like I said I have to run vb6 apps on win7x64 and these are the files I install.
One other issue could be it could be referring a path to C:\program files instead of C:\program files x86? <---long shot
Presetone: do you have the source code? Maybe you could add some custom error handling code in order to see where exactly its failing. If not could you post the error that windows gives you when you try to install?
Also check the event viewer the error code also might be in there under application events
Jul 15, 2012 at 10:42 UTC
Long shot : on your VB6 project, is the Binary compatibility option checked (to make sure the new version is compatible with the binaries of the old version)?
It's a long time I haven't done any VB6, but that was one of the major problems we had : everything works fine on our dev boxes, but nothing works on the clean, test boxes.That did the trick most of the time.
Jul 19, 2012 at 3:39 UTC
The missing DLL files could be anything, not just a VB prereq. The old programmers could have split some logic or controls out into custom DLL files and without those you will be sunk. You still need all of the referenced DLLs even when you are working from the original source.
Jul 20, 2012 at 8:55 UTC
Got the answer yesterday from the creator, turns out I compiled it on a Win 7 machine and I had to do it on my XP virtual machine for it to run everywhere else.
thanks for the suggestions
This discussion has been inactive for over a year.
You may get a better answer to your question by starting a new discussion.


text:
Dear sheeple,
Ever heard of the Comedy Central Roast of Whositsface? Basically, the elect a celebrity to roast. They have him/her sit in a chair. Then they have an army of celebrities come out and "roast" them by making fun of them. It's a really funny annual event, and at sometime the idea hit me. How fun would it be to have all the users sit around and poke fun at Ricizubi or someone? This sounds like a good idea to me, but it also sounds like an idea that will fall apart easily. If you guys like this concept, here's the plan.
1. We decide who to roast. A well-known user who doesn't mind being the butt of the joke.
2. We elect a host. I'm not sure if we need one, but a funny user who can introduce the roast.
3. We choose our roasters. Our best and brightest users get the honor of cracking the jokes.
4. We write some jokes. Put your heads together and come up with some funny material.
5. We make a blog for the roast. It would be the host's job to make the blog.
OR a simpler alternative,
1. We decide who to roast. Boom.
2. We make a blog for the roast. Boom.
3. All the users comment with thier jokes. Bada-bing.
Love, hoping this falls together, Ryu-Chan


text:
Lauren Doane (above) and Emily Matthews have been two of the lifeguards keeping watch over Heather Beach this summer. They are planning their annual Fun Day at the beach on Saturday, Aug. 9.
PORT HOWE – Saving lives is their job, but having fun will also be important this weekend for the lifeguards at Heather Beach.
The lifeguards will host their annual Fun Day at the beach on Saturday, Aug. 9, from noon to 3 p.m., with activities including a sand castle contest, free "Swim to Survive" lessons, games for children, and prizes.
The swim lessons will be offered in the morning, according to lifeguard Emily Matthews.
As part of the lesson, swimmers will learn how to roll off a paddleboard into the water, tread water for 30 seconds, and swim for 50 metres.
"It's basically a certificate, to teach you if you're ever in a boating accident or a water incident, to know that you can be safe," she said. "It's to get yourself to the point where you can be rescued or in good condition."
This year's Fun Day will coincide with HarbourFest activities in nearby Pugwash, which could make for more traffic than usual at Heather Beach, something the lifeguards are prepared for.
Matthews is being joined on staff this year by fellow lifeguards Lauren Doane and Rachel Betuik.
The summer so far has been warm, sunny and busy for the lifeguards, who began their duties on the last weekend in June.
"The water has been real warm this year too," said Doane. "The temperature is usually in the low 20s."
The beach has seen about 500 people per day on the weekends.
"We get a fairly decent split between cottagers who come for months, and people who just come out for a day," said Matthews. "Everyone has been really good at following the warning signs we post on our board."
In fact, Heather Beach is so safe that the only reminder the lifeguards have had to repeat to beachgoers this summer has been to keep their dogs on leashes.
"If there is an offshore wind and the tide is going out, you might lose an inflatable because the next thing it will hit is P.E.I.," said Matthews. "Other than that, it's a very safe beach simply because of the way it ended up being shaped, with a slight slope and a giant sandbar."
Nova Scotia lifeguards are fully certified and attend training before the season begins to ensure they have technical and physical skills to do water rescue and promote water safety.
Since 1973, the lifeguard service has maintained a perfect record of no drownings on Nova Scotia beaches during supervised hours.
The Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service and the Lifesaving Society, Nova Scotia Branch, are contracted by the Department of Health and Wellness to provide supervision at 23 Nova Scotia beaches. They also guard some federal and municipal beaches.
Twitter: @ADNandrew


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Give Glentoran your all or head for the exit: Morris
Elliott Morris has a message for any players who don't want to play for Glentoran – pack your bags.
When today's Irish Cup final is over and the tales of glory and despair subside, the spotlight will focus on who's heading for the Oval exit door.
Speculation regarding the future of players has grown since news emerged that there have been several missed wage payments this season.
Despite the financial strife, players have refused to go on strike.
Their loyalty and commitment to the cause has been rewarded with a place in the showpiece final against treble-chasing Cliftonville at Windsor Park today (2.30pm).
However, a few Glentoran favourites are likely to wave farewell to the club this summer.
Andrew Waterworth could move cross town to Linfield and the Blues are also interested in Sean Ward.
Richard Clarke has his admirers around the league and Stephen Carson is expected to seek a new challenge, possibly in America, while Colin Nixon will make his final appearance for the club in the final.
Keeper Morris, who could be wearing the captain's armband against the Reds, says he only wants to line up alongside players who are committed to the Glentoran cause.
"I don't know who is going to leave the club but I'm sure they probably have their minds made up by now," said Morris.
"If they want to leave, they will leave but Eddie (Patterson) and his backroom staff are trying to build for the future and they can only do that with players who want to be here.
"This club needs people who want to play for Glentoran. I don't want to be a team-mate of someone who doesn't want to be here.
"I'm sure Eddie feels the same. If you don't want to play for Glentoran on a Saturday, just go."
Morris will be making his fourth appearance for the Glens in an Irish Cup final.
Coleraine got the better of him in 2003 but he was able to exact revenge 12 months later.
He was between the sticks the last time the east-Belfast giants made the decider, losing the 2006 final to Linfield.
"I can't really remember the disappointing moments to be honest," added the shot-stopper.
"I said to Seamus (Lynch) after we beat Portadown that I'm really intending to enjoy this one because I can't really remember the other ones!
"I'm going to take everything in. You could be tempted to think, especially being at a club like Glentoran, that there is always next year. But football isn't like that as we know."
Morris will have to keep an eye on sharp-shooters Liam Boyce and Joe Gormley who have scored 75 goals between them his season.
Boyce, sitting on 36 strikes, will finish top of the goalscoring charts.
"Liam and Joe are the main men for them," added Morris.
"If we can keep those two boys quiet then it gives us a massive chance.
"Andy (Waterworth) up front for us has been magnificent this season and he's always liable to get one or two goals."
Belfast Telegraph
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- Carson will go into decider with a heathly desire


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The UAE government should be credited for pushing the industry hard so that they established themselves well and secure a good name overseas. The 28th part of a series describing the unknown triumphs and travails of doing international business
Some six weeks or so after the surprise visit of the American Textile Delegation, we were all subject to various rumours in the market. For one thing, the closed-door discussions in the Free Zone as well as various chambers of commerce and industry in all the Emirates continued.
In fact, the first major move was made by the Dubai Chamber. Our director general Abdul Rehman had called for a brief talk over the phone, after which I alerted all the JAGTA members to attend. A lot of manufacturers outside the JAGTA were also associated with it, because they had registered for getting regular reports from our lobbyist in Washington DC, which JAGTA had arranged. Their reports were regularly transmitted by fax to all registered manufacturers in the country and this service was done from Finetex office, as I was operating from here. The Dubai Chamber meeting, attended by manufacturers from every Emirate was the first major get-together of its kind, where they were assured that the government was fully aware of the growth of the industry, and every possible support will be given to strengthen the same.
All the chambers of commerce, ministry for industry and the Free Zone had a fairly good idea of the machinery capacity of all the plants in operation. They also had the full human resources data of the number of visas issued to each of the plant. Additionally, they had compiled the statistical data of the type of finished garments that was being exported out of the country. Because of the meticulous record kept in the Free Zone, they had a good idea about the quantum of import of fabrics and accessories; besides, when their inspectors regularly visited various plants, they had acquired a good knowledge of plant capacities. Records were kept of every fabric received in-house, in the Free Zone, and when this was transported to another plant in the country for conversion. This was done to arrive accurately an estimated production capacity of the each plant and the type of garments they would be able to make, visa-a-vis what they were actually shipping.
This was a formidable task but the staff of the zone and the ministry was fully up to the mark and kept pace with the developments. So, when the overall quota was received by the UAE, we did not know how this was divided among the Emirates or by the established production capacity of the plants, in the manner described above. The distribution was fair and equitable.
For example, both Palmon and Atraco were fully-equipped and organized to make all kinds of shirts; so, if they had the need, they would be able to switch over to make basic ladies blouses, though, they would rather make shirts, which they knew best. Wellworth, made a lot of children's garments, though, they did make other products also. Finetex made both shirts and blouses, though a large capacity was assigned for the production of jackets, trousers and shorts. They made different kinds of T-shirts too. Singleton specialized in shirts too.
Yet, when the notification came, all of us had a fair distribution in terms of quota allocation, based on what we had produced and exported in the past two years and our own installed machinery capacity. Naturally, the tendency was to 'buy' the quota from another manufacturer of the items one was interested in and 'sell' what they preferred not to make. If Palmon or Atraco sold their shorts quota, it was done in such a fashion to acquire their shirts quota, and so on. At the end of the day, I do not think anyone was upset about the quota distribution made by the government. Many swapped their quotas.
On the top of it, we later on discovered that we were able to approach the ministry for special or additional allocations, if we had exhausted our allocated quota and had to complete our orders. Also, as the ministry was keeping a very close watch on the quota situation; they were also effectively following up with manufacturers to consume the quota. They knew full well that at least a lead time of four months was required, if one had to secure an order, place the fabric requirements, acquire the accessories and manufacture for the shipment.
In every way, I would credit the government authorities for pushing the industry hard so that they established themselves well and secure a good name overseas.
As we were struggling with this situation, we had the surprise visit from the Canadian government, who too wanted to verify the existence of the textile industry in the UAE, and establish a similar quota procedure for their country.
Having gained the confidence of our well established relations with the US market, we were able to convince the Canadian team as well that the industry has come to stay and are in fact helping to employ a large number of people from the Asian countries, classified as LDCs.
Enterprising manufacturers, meanwhile, had made some headway in establishing beach-heads in UK, France and Germany; it was not practical to break into the East European Block, but a beginning was also made in Australia.
All the manufacturers in the Free Zone, who were procuring overseas orders directly for a variety of garments, were left over with excess production in varying numbers from each order. I think, it was around this juncture, when the UAE Industrial Exhibition was organized in Dubai. I think it was inaugurated by the then defence minister, HRH Sheikh Mohammed (who is the ruler of Dubai now), and was well received. All the manufacturers were permitted to offer their excess production to the local market and this was an unexpected bonanza for the industry.
It must be remembered that such a large working population for this industry alone was making a sizeable contribution to the UAE economy and the government gave full support in every way possible.
(AK Ramdas has worked with the Engineering Export Promotion Council of the ministry of commerce and was associated with various committees of the Council. His international career took him to places like Beirut, Kuwait and Dubai at a time when these were small trading outposts. From being the advisor to exporters, he took over the mantle of a trader, travelled far and wide, and switched over to setting up garment factories and then worked in the US. He can be contacted at [email protected].)
Moody's Investors Service said it has placed on review for downgrade three banks in India (ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank), whose standalone credit assessments are currently positioned above India's sovereign debt rating
New Delhi: Global ratings agency Moody's on Monday placed credit ratings of leading private sector banks, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, on watch for a possible downgrade within three months, reports PTI.
Moody's Investors Service said it has placed on review for downgrade three banks in India (ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank), whose standalone credit assessments are currently positioned above India's sovereign debt rating.
The announcement reflects Moody's revised assessment of the linkage between the credit profiles of sovereigns and financial institutions globally.
"Consistent with this guidance, Moody's expects to position the standalone credit assessments of most banks globally at (or below) the rating of the sovereign where the bank is domiciled," Moody's Investors Service said adding "Moody's expects to conclude the reviews within approximately three months".
In its reaction, ICICI Bank's spokesperson said: "The rating action by Moody's is not a change in the sovereign rating of India and not affect ratings of any instrument issued by ICICI Bank (bonds or deposits).
"Our ALM (Asset Liability Management) is well matched with asset repayments in FY 12-13 broadly covering our bond and loan repayment obligations. We do not need to access bond markets for refinance. We will look at accessing the markets to raise funds for new lending depending on the cost and the rates at which we can deploy the funds," ICICI said.
Moody's has also placed the insurance financial strength rating of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) under review for possible downgrade.
The announcements come close on the heels of lowering of rating outlook of 11 financial institutions, including these three private banks, by Standard and Poor's.
All the three banks have 'baa2' foreign currency long-term ratings from Moody's, which reflects medium-grade investment rating with some speculative elements and moderate credit risk.
Another statement said that "Moody's has placed the insurance financial strength rating of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) (Baa2/stable) under review for possible downgrade".
Moody's said that the review for downgrade reflects LIC's direct exposure to the Indian sovereign risk in terms of its investment portfolio and business profile.
As of 31 December 2011, government securities and government guaranteed bonds represented 54% (Rs6 lakh crore or about $111 billion) of the insurer's total cash and invested assets and 764% of adjusted shareholders' equity, the statement said.
It said almost 100% of its net premiums earned are from India.
"Furthermore, LIC has been increasing its exposure to public sector banks through equity investment, in addition to the purchase of shares in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation which is 69.14% owned by the Indian government in March 2012," it added.
The global economic uncertainty has led to projected flat or reduction in budgets for outsourcing services by western clients, which has in turn sparked fears about the performance of Indian players, who get almost 80% of their revenues from the US and European markets
New Delhi: Newly appointed Nasscom chairman N Chandrasekaran on Monday expressed confidence that the $100 billion Indian IT-BPO sector will grow at 11%-14%, despite the global economic uncertainties and muted forecast by some member companies, reports PTI.
"Overall, technology has an important role to play whether you look at this year or any other year. It will play an important role in the revival of markets and businesses.
Along with that the emergence of new powerful technologies be it cloud or big data, there are tremendous opportunities globally and nationally," Mr Chandrasekaran told reporters here.
All these things will play to the strength of the Indian IT industry, he said, adding that the software body is continuing with its 11%-14% growth forecast and will take a re-look at it in October.
The global economic uncertainty has led to projected flat or reduction in budgets for outsourcing services by western clients, which has in turn sparked fears about the performance of Indian players, who get almost 80% of their revenues from the US and European markets.
With Infosys and Wipro giving muted guidance, these fears were further strengthened. However, the performance of others like TCS and HCL Technologies did provide hope that demand still existed, even if on a smaller level.
Mr Chandrasekaran, who is also the CEO of the country's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), said there are numerous opportunities available and the focus needs to be on underpenetrated markets like Eastern Europe, Latin America and Japan.
Nasscom has also appointed MindTree CEO Krishnakumar Natarajan as vice chairman of the4 executive council for 2012-13.
Asked about the challenges being faced by the Indian companies, the senior officials said the foremost task was to tide over the current environment.
"A McKinsey estimate is that by 2020, the industry will be between $220-$300 billion and that is a huge opportunity for the Indian IT industry. There could be short term challenges but in the long term, competitiveness of Indian IT industry is strong," he said.
He added that the industry has changed from taking orders to helping companies transform their business and this will drive the growth further.
Mr Chandrasekaran said the executive council will work on re-inventing and embracing new business models, strengthening innovation capacity and research capabilities of Indian players, strengthening long-term entrepreneurial environment.
On the issue of visa rejections, Mr Chandrasekaran said it continues to be an issue.
"However, companies are now planning to tackle this, be it through local resourcing or applying ahead of time. There is also a better understanding that it is not labour movement but that of highly skilled manpower," he added.
Nasscom would also work on enhancing skilled talent pool in the country and focus on specialisation.
"One of the key priorities for Nasscom is to build the future companies of the industry and I look forward to take this initiative to greater heights," Mr Natarajan said.


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In the wake of "Breaking Bad's" series finale, American audiences are mending broken hearts over the departure of their favorite meth-addled drama. For Latino audiences, the ride is just beginning.
Sony Pictures Television is getting back into bed with Walter White -- or Walter Blanco, as it were -- with "Metastasis," a Spanish-language remake of Vince Gilligan's Emmy-winning drama. The Colombian production will see Sony teamed up with local shingle Teleset. Sony bought 50% stake in the production company back in 2009.