Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Title

Electrostatic Micromembrane Actuator Arrays as Motion Generator

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Abstract

A rigid-body motion generator based on an array of micromembrane actuators is described. Unlike previous microelectromechanical systems(MEMS) techniques, the architecture employs a large number (typically greater than 1000) of micron-sized (10–200 μm) membrane actuators to simultaneously generate the displacement of a large rigid body, such as a conventional optical mirror. For optical applications, the approach provides optical design freedom of MEMSmirrors by enabling large-aperture mirrors to be driven electrostatically by MEMS actuators. The micromembrane actuator arrays have been built using a stacked architecture similar to that employed in the Multiuser MEMS Process (MUMPS), and the motion transfer from the arrayed micron-sized actuators to macro-sized components was demonstrated.

Publication Title

Applied Physics Letters

Volume

84

Issue

22

First Page

4418

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