Small mechanical devices fabricated from semiconductor substrates called
micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are used in the telecommunications
industry for various purposes, such as switching and attenuation.
Typically a small mirror or arm is moved into or out of the optical path
of a beam of light to redirect of attenuate the signal. The present
invention relates to a drive circuit for a MEMS device that converts a low
voltage source into a higher more useful voltage pulse. The present
invention also relates to an optically powered MEMS device utilizing the
aforementioned drive circuit. Moreover, the drive circuit according to the
present invention can be used to generate a single exponentially decaying
pulse that can both generate an actuation force and a braking force for
the MEMS device.
