Vertical electrothermal actuator with separated metal and nitride structural layers

Jui-Che Tsai; Ren-Jie Lai; Chun-Yi Yin; Dian-Sheng Chen; Ching-Kai Shen; Yao-Tien Chang

doi:10.1117/1.3100208

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1 April 2009 Vertical electrothermal actuator with separated metal and nitride structural layers

Jui-Che Tsai, Ren-Jie Lai, Chun-Yi Yin, Dian-Sheng Chen, Ching-Kai Shen, Yao-Tien Chang

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J. of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, 8(2), 021114 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3100208

Abstract

We report on a novel low-power, large-displacement, vertical electrothermal actuator made of multiple materials, primarily silicon nitride, polysilicon, and nickel. The architecture of separated metal and nitride layers bypasses the limitation imposed by conventional bimorph actuators. A vertical tip displacement of 20 µm can be achieved at a driving current as low as 1.06 mA. The corresponding power consumption is 16.29 mW. Devices with different combinations of parameter values are characterized and compared. At the end of the work, we compare our device with several selections from the archives.

©(2009) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Jui-Che Tsai, Ren-Jie Lai, Chun-Yi Yin, Dian-Sheng Chen, Ching-Kai Shen, and Yao-Tien Chang "Vertical electrothermal actuator with separated metal and nitride structural layers," Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS 8(2), 021114 (1 April 2009). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3100208

Published: 1 April 2009

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