Nonlinear Modeling and Differential-Voltage Control of an Electrostatic MEMS Micromirror for Miniaturized Laser Communication Terminals

Electrostatic MEMS micromirrors provide a compact and low-power beam-steering solution for miniaturized laser communication terminals. However, when they are used for quasi-static beam pointing rather than resonant scanning, the nonlinear voltage–angle relationship, bidirectional actuation asymmetry, and terminal-level installation errors can significantly degrade pointing accuracy. In this paper, a nonlinear modeling and differential-voltage control method is investigated for a two-axis electrostatic MEMS micromirror used in a miniaturized laser communication terminal. The device under test is a bonded aluminum MEMS micromirror with a 5.0 mm aperture. Static and dynamic characterization results show that the micromirror achieves maximum mechanical deflection angles of 5.215° and 5.161° along the X and Y axes, respectively, with resonant frequencies of 317 Hz and 319 Hz. To improve the accuracy of quasi-static pointing, the differential-voltage actuation principle is analyzed, and a nonlinear voltage–angle model is established based on measured deflection data. Compared with a first-order linear model, the cubic nonlinear model reduces the root-mean-square fitting error from 0.142° to 0.0127° for the X axis and from 0.132° to 0.0109° for the Y axis. Furthermore, a terminal-level calibration architecture based on a quadrant detector is introduced to map the MEMS angular deflection to the received spot position. The proposed modeling and calibration approach provides an actuator-level basis for accurate beam pointing and closed-loop acquisition in miniaturized laser communication terminals.