Abstract
We developed a MEMS-based hydraulic displacement amplification mechanism (HDAM) with completely encapsulated liquid for tactile displays applications. The fabricated mechanism creates amplification through a micro-chamber with different cross-sectional areas etched in a silicon wafer. The chamber is filled with glycerin, an incompressible fluid, and sealed by two thin largely deformable membranes of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by using ultraviolet curable resin as an intermediate layer. By combining HDAM with micro-actuators, we can amplify the input displacement generated by the actuators through the HDAM and use the output displacement to stimulate tactile receptors. To optimize the characteristics of the HDAM, FEM analysis has been performed and we obtained a device able to amplify displacement of piezoelectric actuators up to 15-fold.
