Abstract
In this paper, the design, the fabrication and the operation of electro-static microactuators with sub-micron gaps are reported. As the fabrication of sub-micron gap we employed a technology called "Oxidation Machining" that aims at the fine tuning of gap width. Micro-resonator with sub-micron gaps were fabricated by this technology. The resonator with 0.3μm gap can be operated under 11.5V (peak) with the amplitude of ±5.2μm. Then, a novel post-releasing fabrication called "Post Release Positioning" was invented. By applying this technology, the linear actuator, which changes its position when DC voltage is applied, was fabricated. The linear actuator with 0.2μm gap moved 3.6μm when 11.1V was applied. The relationship between square of applied voltage and the displacement of this linear actuator is very linear; that means this actuator is capable of fine position control. The experimental performance of the actuator is compared with the theoretical calculation.
