Estimation of the mechanical stiffness constant of MEMS-based parallel-plate micro-actuators
| Autor: | Wei Gao, Deginet Admassu, Silviu Velicu, Sivalingam Sivananthan, Tejumade Durowade |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
010302 applied physics
Microelectromechanical systems Fabrication Materials science Silicon Stiffness Silicon on insulator chemistry.chemical_element 02 engineering and technology Photoresist 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Condensed Matter Physics 01 natural sciences Electronic Optical and Magnetic Materials chemistry Hardware and Architecture 0103 physical sciences medicine Wafer Electrical and Electronic Engineering medicine.symptom Composite material 0210 nano-technology Displacement (fluid) |
| Zdroj: | Microsystem Technologies. 27:2751-2759 |
| ISSN: | 1432-1858 0946-7076 |
| Popis: | The fabrication and testing of a parallel plate MEMS electrostatic micro-actuator is reported. The device consists of stationary bulk silicon and movable membrane chips with three spring-like x-beam configurations fabricated from a silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer. A SU-8 photoresist layer was deposited on the stationary chip to act as a spacer since its thickness determines the electrostatic force that can be applied. This in turn has an effect on the displacement of the micro-actuator. We investigated the effects of the applied voltage on the displacement of movable x-beam membranes for different arm designs with similar surface areas. We achieved maximum stable displacements of 8.75 µm and 9.89 µm for spacer thicknesses of 28 µm and 33 µm at 95 VDC and 128 VDC, respectively, for a serpentine arm design. Beyond these voltages, we found the displacement of the micro-actuator tended to be non-uniform and unstable. We also estimated the mechanical stiffness constants of our x-beam designs from the snap-in conditions. Our estimates for various spacer thicknesses were within 5% of one another. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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