Electrostatic comb-drive actuators made of polyimide for actuating micromotion convert mechanisms

Abstract

 For conventional micromachines, in particular, micromotion convert mechanisms, the output points of the mechanism can move horizontally when input points move in the same direction. Therefore, we have proposed a three-dimensional motion convert mechanism whose output points can move vertically when the input points move in the horizontal direction. This 2-degree-of-freedom (DOF) mechanism consists of electrostatic comb-drive actuators and a basic mechanism with large-deflective elastic hinges. In this study, the characteristics of comb-drive actuators are analyzed. The electrostatic comb-drive actuator which is made up of polyimide is fabricated by CVD, RIE, Wet etching, etc., technologies. The relationship between the input (voltage) and the output (displacement) of the drive has been analyzed both theoretically and experimentally.