STTR Phase I: Long Stroke Micromachined Arrayed Cell Electrostatic Actuators for Highly Integrated Micro-Positioning

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The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to advance the development of a highly integrated power-efficient micro-actuator technology. All electrically powered systems with mechanical moving parts utilize actuators to convert electrical energy into mechanical motion, including robots, surgical/medical micro-devices, precision micro/nano-positioning systems, and optical systems like the Compact Camera Modules (CCM) in smartphones and tablets. The market for electromechanical actuators embedded in compact camera modules was an estimated $2+ B in 2018. The proposed project will advance a technology for these CCM optical systems.This Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase I project aims to explore commercialization of arrayed cell electrostatic (ACE) actuators. Arrangement of individual micro-scale actuator cells, resembling that of biological muscle cells, allows addition of force and displacements of a large number of cells, leading to large actuator displacements of hundreds of microns. Submicron electrostatic transduction airgaps within the actuator cells between electrodes tens of microns tall are realized via a bulk micromachining fabrication process utilizing a sacrificial layer technique. Submicron transduction gaps lead to large work output per actuator volume and lower operating voltage, both of which are major limiting factors for electrostatic actuators. This project specifically focuses on micro-lens manipulators to replace conventional Voice Coil Motors (VCM) in compact camera modules for Auto-Focus (AF) and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) functions. The targeted actuators can lead to more compact CCMs with improved auto-focus and image stabilization performance, lower power consumption, and without the VCM heat deteriorating the image sensor performance. The technical efforts will focus on design, fabrication, and characterization of a chip-scale low-power 5-degree of freedom (DOF) micro-lens manipulator suitable for use in compact camera modules. Comprehensive long-term reliability and durability tests will be performed on the fabricated prototypes to determine the limitations and viability of the actuators.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.