Electrostatic micromechanical actuator with extended range of travel

被引:153
作者
Chan, EK [1 ]
Dutton, RW [1 ]
机构
[1] Stanford Univ, Ctr Integrated Syst, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
关键词
electromechanical actuator; extended travel; folded capacitor; parasitics; residual charge; stability; tilt;
D O I
10.1109/84.870058
中图分类号
TM [电工技术]; TN [电子技术、通信技术];
学科分类号
0808 ; 0809 ;
摘要
The practical design issues of an electrostatic micromechanical actuator that can travel beyond the trademark limit of conventional actuators are presented in this paper. The actuator employs a series capacitor to extend the effective electrical gap of the device and to provide stabilizing negative feedback. Sources of parasitics-from layout and two-dimensional nonuniform deformation-that limit the actuation range are identified and their effects quantified. Two "folded capacitor" designs that minimize the parasitics and are straightforward to implement in multiuser microelectromechanical processes are introduced. The effects of residual charge are analyzed, and a linear electrostatic actuator exploiting those effects is proposed. Extended travel is achieved in fabricated devices, but is ultimately limited by tilting instabilities. Nevertheless, the resultant designs are smaller than devices based on other extended-travel technologies, making them attractive for applications that require high fill factors.
引用
收藏
页码:321 / 328
页数:8
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