The response of a polysilicon parallel-plate electrostatic actuator to AC signals at diierent bias voltages has been measured with a laser interferometer. Using microhinges, large plates (with areas from 100m 2 to 0:1mm 2) with long thin support beams (such as 60031:5m 3) are rotated oo the surface of the substrate to form a parallel-plate capacitor. Fabricated structures having 100m gaps can b...

Silicon-based dielectric thin films such as SiO2 and Si3N4 are commonly used as insulation layers in electrostatic microactuators to protect the device from short circuiting if the electrodes are in contact. However, dielectric films can store bulk and/or surface static charges. In this paper, the effect that these static charges have on the force applied by an electrostatic actuator is analyze...

The journal retracts the article, A Closed-Loop Control Mathematical Model for Photovoltaic-Electrostatic Hybrid Actuator with a Slant Lower Electrode Based on PLZT Ceramic [...]

An electrostatic actuator and mechanical-amplifier (MA) device has been designed and fabricated to study fatigue properties of low-stress LPCVD silicon nitride thin films. The device consists of two resonators connected serially with a common torsion bar. When pumping electrostatic energy into the first resonator, the energy is transferred to the second resonator via the common torsion bar. The...

The Casimir attraction can significantly interfere the physical response of nanoactuators. The intensity of the Casimir force depends on the geometries of interacting bodies. The present paper is dedicated to model the influence of the Casimir attraction on the electrostatic stability of nanoactuators made of cylindrical conductive nanowire/nanotube. An asymptotic solution, based on path-integr...

The nonlinear analysis of nanoelectromechanical systems using the differential quadrature model is investigated. The differential quadrature method is applied to overcome the difficulty of determining the nonlinear equation of motion. The characteristics of various combinations of curved electrodes and cantilever beams are considered to optimize the design. Various nano-actuators, such as the c...

This paper presents a novel design of MEMS based microneedle actuator with force feedback system which can be used for biomedical applications such as cell manipulation, drug delivery and DNA injection. The actuation mechanism of microneedle is driven by two electrostatic comb actuators. Since the manipulated objects are very sensitive, and can be easily damaged, it’s essential to have a force ...

This paper presents the successful demonstration of a large-stroke, high-precision inchworm microactuator. The actuator is capable of zero-power latching, or forcibly maintaining its position by using pre-stressed spring load. The actuator is driven by a combination of a PZT-stack actuator unit for slider thrust and electrostatic comb-drive units for slider grip. Incremental step size is precis...