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Cryogenic Characterization and Testing of Magnetically-Actuated Microshutter Arrays for the James Webb Space TelescopeTwo-dimensional MEMS microshutter arrays (MSA) have been fabricated at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to enable cryogenic (approximately 35 K) spectrographic astronomy measurements in the near-infrared region. Functioning as a focal plane object selection device, the MSA is a 2-D programmable aperture mask with fine resolution, high efficiency and high contrast. The MSA are close- packed silicon nitride shutters (cell size of 100 x 200 microns) patterned with a torsion flexure to allow opening to 90 degrees. A layer of magnetic material is deposited onto each shutter to permit magnetic actuation. Two electrodes are deposited, one onto each shutter and another onto the support structure side-wall, permitting electrostatic latching and 2-D addressing. New techniques were developed to test MSA under mission-similar conditions (8 K less than or equal to T less than 300K). The magnetic rotisserie has proven to be an excellent tool for rapid characterization of MSA. Tests conducted with the magnetic rotisserie method include accelerated cryogenic lifetesting of unpackaged 128 x 64 MSA and parallel measurement of the magneto-mechanical stiffness of shutters in pathfinder test samples containing multiple MSA designs. Lifetest results indicate a logarithmic failure rate out to approximately 10(exp 6) shutter actuations. These results have increased our understanding of failure mechanisms and provide a means to predict the overall reliability of MSA devices.
Document ID
20040081165
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
King, T. T. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kletetschka, G. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Jah, M. A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Li, M. J. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Jhabvala, M. D. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Wang, L. L. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Beamesderfer, M. A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kutyrev, A. S. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Silverberg, R. F. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Rapchun, D. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Schwinger, D. S. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Electronics And Electrical Engineering
Meeting Information
Meeting: Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Workshop
Location: Hilton Head, SC
Country: United States
Start Date: June 6, 2004
End Date: June 10, 2004
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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