Abstract
Here we present a new design concept enabling an electro-thermally driven microgripper to have bilateral motion by combining two basic microactuators properly. The basic microactuator is composed of two adjacent cantilever beams with different lengths to exhibit the lateral displacement under uneven thermal expansion. At different input voltage modes, if the effective beam lengths are also different, then the microgripper can deflect in two opposite directions laterally. To demonstrate the design principle, microgrippers made of two different materials, including single crystal silicon (SCS) and polysilicon, are fabricated by IC compatible processes with only one mask. The analytical model of the electro-thermo-mechanical relationship for the microgripper is derived and verified by finite element model and experimental data. Some design parameters significantly influencing the performance of the microgrippers are also discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 71-78 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of the Chinese Society of Mechanical Engineers, Transactions of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, Series C/Chung-Kuo Chi Hsueh Kung Ch'eng Hsuebo Pao |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - 1 Feb 2001 |
Keywords
- Bilateral
- Electro-thermal
- Microgripper