Electrostatic microactuators with integrated gear linkages for mechanical power transmission
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Michael Curt Elwenspoek; Erwin Berenschot; Rob Legtenberg; J.H.J. Fluitman
- Source
- Proceedings IEEE Ninth Annual International Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, MEMS '96, 204-209
STARTPAGE=204;ENDPAGE=209;TITLE=Proceedings IEEE Ninth Annual International Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, MEMS '96
- Subject
- Materials science
Speed wobble
business.industry
METIS-130358
Mechanical engineering
Structural engineering
Surface micromachining
chemistry.chemical_compound
IR-25556
Silicon nitride
chemistry
Comb drive
EWI-13576
Electrode
Stiction
Torque
Actuator
business
- Language
- English
In this paper a surface micromachining process is presented which has been used to fabricate electrostatic microactuators that are interconnected with each other and linked to other movable microstructures by integrated gear linkages. The gear linkages consist of rotational and linear gear structures and the electrostatic microactuators include curved electrode actuators, comb drive actuators and axial gap wobble motors. The micromechanical structures are constructed from polysilicon. Silicon dioxide has been used as a sacrificial layer and silicon nitride was used for electrical insulation. A cyclohexane freeze drying technique is used to prevent problems with stiction. The actuators, loaded with various mechanisms, have been driven successfully by electrostatic actuation. The work is a first step towards mechanical power transmission in micromechanical systems.