We experimentally investigate the primary superharmonic of order two and subharmonic of order one-half resonances of an electrostatic MEMS actuator under direct excitation. We identify the parameters of a one degree of freedom (1-DOF) generalized Duffing oscillator model representing it. The experiments were conducted in soft vacuum to reduce squeeze-film damping, and the actuator response was ...

A novel electrostatic inchworm microactuator, which employs both a built-in mechanical transformation and a large number of contraction units to generate large force and sub-micrometer resolution step, is presented. The actuator is fabricated in a single polysilicon device layer using a trench isolation technology. The entire actuator, including the clamps and the contraction element, fits in a...

In this paper, we report the fabrication of platinum nanowires using single wall carbon nanotubes as templates and their application as an electro-chemical actuator. Two regimes of actuation were seen in this actuator. In the “low” charge injection regime, quantum mechanical effects introduced by electrochemical double layer charge manipulation were the dominant actuation mechanism. Strain of a...

A model for a chaotic micro-oscillator is developed by adding a new control system to an electrostatic actuator consisting of two electrodes: the substrate and a cantilever beam on top. The electrostatic actuator itself has a single stable equilibrium over a range of voltage, whereas adding the controller, which has a quadratic function, creates a voltage range for bistability. The bi-stability...

An electrostatic actuator is designed to move a 1 mm mirror, 58 μm out of plane at 25 volts. Large out-of-plane displacement is obtained from repulsive forces generated on four sets of comb drive fingers attached to the mirror plate in the middle. The proposed actuator is a customized design of a previous study for low voltage applications. The static modeling of the actuator was performed usin...

A highly versatile soft gripper that can handle an unprecedented range of object types is developed based on a new design of dielectric elastomer actuators employing an interdigitated electrode geometry, simultaneously maximizing both electroadhesion and electrostatic actuation while incorporating self-sensing. The multifunctionality of the actuator leads to a highly integrated, lightweight, fa...