Patents Assigned to Navel Research Laboratory
  • Shell type actuator
    Patent number: 7812502
    Abstract: A micromechanical resonator is formed on a substrate. The resonator has a partial spherical shell clamped on an outside portion of the shell to the substrate. In other embodiments, a flat disc or other shape may be used. Movement is induced in a selected portion of the disc, inducing easily detectible out-of-plane motion. A laser is used in one embodiment to heat the selected portion of the disc and induce the motion. The motion may be detected by capacitive or interferometric techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignees: Cornell Research Foundation, Inc., Navel Research Laboratory
    Inventors: Maxim Zalalutdinov, Robert B. Reichenbach, Keith Aubin, Brian H. Houston, Jeevak M. Parpia, Harold G. Craighead