Design and fabrication of a bistable electromagnetic microactuator

An electromagnetic microactuator with two stable positions is presented. The actuator consists of a cantilever beam with two free ends, a torsional beam with two fixed ends, planar coils and permanent magnets. The cantilever beam has two stable positions due to the use of permanent magnets. With electromagnetic actuation arising from the planar coils, the cantilever beam will switch from one stable position to the other. Mechanical and magnetic analysis are carried out on the actuator, and the device with a size of 2.2 mm × 2.5 mm is fabricated with the UV-LIGA technology. The test results show that a current pulse with an amplitude of 70 mA is needed for actuator＇ s switching between the two stable states, and the switching time is no more than 6 ms. Displacement of the end of cantilever is about 15 μm.

A dynamic macromodel for distributed parameter magnetic microactuators

This paper presents a reduced-order model to describe the mechanical behaviour of microbeam-based magnetic devices. The integration for magnetic force is calculated by dividing the microbeam into several segments, and the nonlinear equation set has been developed based on the magnetic circuit principle. In comparison with previous models, the present macromodel accounts for both the micro-magnetic-core reluctance and the coupling between the beam deflection and magnetic force. This macromodel is validated by comparing with the experimental results available in some papers and finite-element solutions.

Modeling and optimal design of multilayer thermal cantilever microactuators

A model of curvature and tip deflection of multilayer thermal cantilever actuators is derived.The sim-plified expression received from the model avoids inverting complex matrices enhances understanding and makes it easier to optimize the structure parameters.Experiment is performed,the modeled and experimental results demonstrate the validity of the model,and it also indicates that Young's module makes great contribution to the deflection;therefore,thin layers cannot be ignored arbitrarily.

SU8 etch mask for patterning PDMS and its application to flexible fluidic microactuators

Over the past few decades,polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)has become the material of choice for a variety of microsystem applications,including microfluidics,imprint lithography,and soft microrobotics.For most of these applications,PDMS is processed by replication molding;however,new applications would greatly benefit from the ability to pattern PDMS films using lithography and etching.Metal hardmasks,in conjunction with reactive ion etching(RIE),have been reported as a method for patterning PDMS;however,this approach suffers from a high surface roughness because of metal redeposition and limited etch thickness due to poor etch selectivity.We found that a combination of LOR and SU8 photoresists enables the patterning of thick PDMS layers by RIE without redeposition problems.We demonstrate the ability to etch 1.5-μm pillars in PDMS with a selectivity of 3.4.Furthermore,we use this process to lithographically process flexible fluidic microactuators without any manual transfer or cutting step.The actuator achieves a bidirectional rotation of 50°at a pressure of 200 kPa.This process provides a unique opportunity to scale down these actuators as well as other PDMS-based devices.

Theoretical modelling and experimental study of novel photothermal microactuators

We present a category of novel photothermal （PT） microactuators. Each microactuator consists of two PT arms that are jointed at the free end and connected to an anchor at the fixed end. When a laser beam irradiates one of the arms （called hot arm, and the other is cold arm）, light energy is absorbed and converted into heat. The asymmetric thermal expansion of the hot and cold arms results in lateral deflection. Based on conduction heat transfer theory and heat dissipation mechanism, we study the PT effects and establish the theoretical model of PT expansion for the microactuators. The temperature distribution and the linear thermal expansion can be numerically calculated. The analytical solution provides an insight into the operation of the actuators and predicts the performance of the actuators with new designs. A symmetry microactuator and a microswitch as the prototypes have been fabricated and tested. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions and prove the feasibility of the novel PT microactuators.

A nonlinear constitutive model for magnetostrictive materials

A general nonlinear constitutive model is proposed for magnetostrictive materials, based on the important physical fact that a nonlinear part of the elastic strain produced by a pre-stress is related to the magnetic domain rotation or movement and is responsible for the change of the maximum magnetostrictive strain with the pre-stress. To avoid the complicity of determining the tensor function describing the nonlinear elastic strain part, this paper proposes a simplified model by means of linearizing the nonlinear function. For the convenience of engineering applications, the expressions of the 3-D （bulk）, 2-D （film） and 1-D （rod） models are, respectively, given for an isotropic material and their applicable ranges are also discussed. By comparison with the experimental data of a Terfenol-D rod, it is found that the proposed model can accurately predict the magnetostrictive strain curves in low, moderate and high magnetic field regions for various compressive pre-stress levels. The numerical simulation further illustrates that, for either magnetostrictive rods or thin films, the proposed model can effectively describe the effects of the pre-stress or residual stress on the magnetization and magnetostrictive strain curves, while none of the known models can capture all of them. Therefore, the proposed model enjoys higher precision and wider applicability than the previous models, especially in the region of the high field.

CONTINUUM TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION FOR MONOLITHIC COMPLIANT MECHANISMS OF MICRO-ACTUATORS

A multi-objective scheme for structural topology optimization of distributed compliant mechanisms of micro-actuators in MEMS condition is presented in this work, in which mechanical flexibility and structural stiffness are both considered as objective functions. The compliant micro-mechanism developed in this way can not only provide sufficient output work but also have sufficient rigidity to resist reaction forces and maintain its shape when holding the work-piece. A density filtering approach is also proposed to eliminate numerical instabilities such as checkerboards, mesh-dependency and one-node connected hinges occurring in resulting mechanisms. SIMP is used as the interpolation scheme to indicate the dependence of material modulus on element-regularized densities. The sequential convex programming method, such as the method of moving asymptotes （MMA）, is used to solve the optimization problem. The validation of the presented methodologies is demonstrated by a typical numerical example.

DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A MICRO THERMAL ACTUATOR FOR CELLULAR GRASPING

The development of a novel polymer-based micro robotic gripper that can be actuated in a fluidic medium is presented in this paper.Our current work is to explore new materials and designs for thermal actuators to achieve micromanipulation of live biological cells.We used parylene C to encapsulate a metal heater,resulting in effectively a tri-layered thermal actuator.Parylene C is a bio-compatible dielectric polymer that can serve as a barrier to various gases and chemicals. Therefore,it is suitable to serve as a thermal/electrical/chemical isolation material for protecting the metal heater from exposing to an aqueous environment.We have demonstrated parylene actuators (2mm×100μm×0.5μm)to operate in an aqueous environment using 10 to 80mW input power.The temperature of these actuators at full deflection was estimated to be～60℃,which is much lower than the typical requirement of>100℃ to actuate other conventional MEMS actuators.Danio rerio follicles in fluidic medium were captured successfully using these actuators.Moreover,these actuators were found to be responsive to moderate rise in environmental temperature,and hence,we could vary the fluidic medium temperature to actuate trimorphs on a chip without any input of electrical energy, i.e.,raising the fluidic temperature from 23℃ to 60℃ could actuate the trimorphs to grasp follicles of ～1mm size in diameter.At 60℃,the embryos inside the follicles were observed to be alive,i.e.,they were still moving in the biological fluid isolated by the follicle membrane.The smallest follicles grasped were～500μm in diameter using 800μm×130μm×0.6μm actuators.The fabrication process,modeling, and optimization of the trimorph actuators are presented.Based on the successful operation of these polymer-based actuators,we are currently developing multifinger thermal microgrippers for cellular grasping and manipulation,which can potentially be hybridly integrated with circuits for computer control.

Development of Wearable Micro-actuator Array for 3-D Virtual Tactile Displays

A novel 4 by 4 array of electromagnetic micro-actuators operating on the principle of voice-coil actuators is presented. The intended application of the array is dynamic tactile stimulation, where multiple actuators generate an illusion of touching a moving pattern. In comparison to earlier designs [1-3], the device has smaller dimensions of 2.28 mm in diameter and 7 mm in length, which allowed its use in an array capable of hosting up to a 5 by 5 set of actuators with a rectangular shape covering an area of 18 mm by 21 mm. Using finite element analysis of several conceptual designs of actuators [1,4,5], it was established that the voice-coil type device (where the coil is the moving part) has most beneficial characteristics for the envisioned application. These include sufficient force over a relatively large distance, allowing tactile stimulation of surfaces with irregular shape, fast response, and small foot-print that matches the density of the tactile sensory neurons in the human finger. Eexperimental evaluation of the operation of neighboring actuators spaced at 3.3 mm apart, indicates that there is no crosstalk between the actuators. The resulting density exceeds that of previously reported alternative designs based on moveable permanent magnets [4,6]. Static force measurement indicate that each micro-actuator can produce at least 26 mN of repulsive force over a stroke of 2100 μm with a peak force of 34 mN. The driving circuit operates at 13.5V and generates a vibration frequency of up to 265 Hz without significant change of the force-displacement characteristics. In the higher frequency range (above 100 Hz) the actuator provides at least 15 mN of force over a slightly reduced stroke of 2300 μm, and a peak force of 21 mN. All of the above parameters meet the required threshold values of tactile human perception known from [2] and [3].

Re-engineering artificial muscle with microhydraulics

We introduce a new type of actuator,the microhydraulic stepping actuator(MSA),which borrows design and operational concepts from biological muscle and stepper motors.MSAs offer a unique combination of power,efficiency,and scalability not easily achievable on the microscale.The actuator works by integrating surface tension forces produced by electrowetting acting on scaled droplets along the length of a thin ribbon.Like muscle,MSAs have liquid and solid functional components and can displace a large fraction of their length.The 100μm pitch MSA presented here already has an output power density of over 200 W kg^(−1),rivaling the most powerful biological muscles,due to the scaling of surface tension forces,MSA’s power density grows quadratically as its dimensions are reduced.

TiNiHf/SiO_(2)/Si shape memory film composites for bidirectional micro actuation

The martensitic phase transformation in Ti_(40.4)Ni_(48)Hf_(11.6) shape memory alloys is leveraged for bi-directional actuation with TiNiHf/SiO_(2)/Si com-posites.The shape memory properties of magnetron sputtered Ti_(40.4)Ni_(48)Hf_(11.6) films annealed at 635℃-5 min are influenced by film thickness and the underlying substrate.Decreasing TiNiHf film thick-ness from 21μm to 110 nm results in the reduction of all characteristic transformation temperatures until a critical thickness is reached.Particularly,Ti_(40.4)Ni_(48)Hf_(11.6) thin films as low as 220 nm show transfor-mations above room temperature when deposited on SiO_(2) buffer layer,which is of great interest in nano-actuation.In comparison,220 nm films on Si substrates are austenitic at room temperature,and thus not suitable for actuation.Thermal fatigue tests on TiNiHf/SiO_(2)/Si bimorphs demonstrate better functional fatigue characteristics than freestanding films,with an average reduction of 15℃ after 125 cycles,with tempera-ture stabilization subsequently.Experimental bi-directional actuation results are promising in the development of bistable actuators within a PMMA/TiNiHf/Si trimorph composite,whereby the additional PMMA layer undergoes a glass transition at 105℃.With the aid of constitutive modeling,a route is elaborated on how bistable actuation can be achieved at micro-to nanoscales by showing favorable thickness combinations of PMMA/TiNiHf/Si composite.

An approach to the capsule endoscopic robot with active drive motion

Commercialized capsule-type endoscopes move passively by peristaltic waves (and gravity),which makes it difficult for doctors to diagnose the areas of interest more thoroughly and actively.To resolve this problem of passivity,it is necessary to find a special locomotion principle,which fits the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.In this paper,a legged locomotive mechanism with shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation based on the peristaltic principle is proposed,and then the structure of the locomotion mechanism is introduced.Based on the preliminary results,the design,modeling,and fabrication of an SMA microactuation concept for application in an endoscopic capsule are given,as well as the SMA spring and legged component design,which is the core section of the system design.We used the pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) to analyze nonlinear and large deflections of the SMA legged component.Thus,a prototype endoscope with an SMA spring and six legged components was designed and fabricated.It is 15 mm in diameter and 33 mm in total length,with a hollow space to house other parts needed for endoscopy such as a camera,a radio frequency (RF) module,and sensors.During testing,the locomotive mechanism was effective in a plastic tube environment.