Micromechanical tunable optical filters: general design rules for wavelengths from near-IR up to 10 μm

General design rules and the scaling laws with wavelength for MEMS tunable optical filters are discussed for the first time. We describe how to determine dimensions and component materials from the system requirements such as tuning range, central wavelength, tuning voltage, tuning speed and resolution. The systematic design allows fair comparison among different topologies such as cantilever, bridge and trampoline. Design examples are shown for filters with center wavelengths at 850 nm and 4 μm.