Low voltage micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) for actuators and optical devices

基于MEMS的器件的小尺寸和高性能已经导致它们在许多科学和工业部门（诸如通信、医疗、运输和消费电子）中的广泛使用。许多MEMS背后的基础技术是微致动器，广泛使用静电、热和洛伦兹磁致动器。然而，当实施具有大运动行程和高力的致动器时，存在许多挑战。热致动器需要更高的功率，并且热负载在许多应用中是一个问题，并且在阵列使用中成倍增加。平行板静电致动器在保持固定位置时提供紧凑尺寸、简单制造和接近零功率要求的益处，但是需要更高的电压来克服大行程应用中所需的力。这通常需要外部电源，消除了MEMS技术提供的尺寸缩小。洛仑兹磁致动器提供低电压操作，但以较大磁体和导体的尺寸增加为代价。需要开发低电压和功率的微致动器，其提供大的行程和力，可以由片上驱动电路供电。本研究的长期目标是为MEMS和微致动器技术的发展、优化和应用做出贡献。拟议的研究将进行以下调查对高行程微执行器，具有低电压和功率的要求。新颖的三电极致动器将被调查，提供降低电压，扩展范围之前的抢购，和紧凑的尺寸的综合效益。它们是一种新型的平行板静电致动器，其性能需要在考虑其设计、使用的制造材料和具体应用的情况下进行研究和优化。将开发和实验实施的制造方法，以探索其在窄方面的设备和微型开关，可控焦点和大旋转角镜的性能。低电压和紧凑的洛伦兹致动器阵列也将是一个研究，并应用于变形镜。将开发大直径柔性金属聚合物反射镜，并使用这两类致动器实现，目标是实现紧凑的长行程可变形和自适应光学系统。最后，将探讨柔性PCB基板，三电极和洛伦兹致动器阵列，低成本的可变形表面。所开发的致动器技术将为广泛的MEMS应用提供进步，例如长行程高隔离开关和可变电容器，可变焦距镜，长行程低成本自适应光学器件（用于显微镜，天文学，光通信）和自适应RF组件。

The small size and high performance of MEMS based devices has resulted in their wide usage in many scientific and industrial sectors, such as communication, medical, transportation, and consumer electronics. A foundation technology behind many MEMS are micro-actuators, with electrostatic, thermal, and Lorentz magnetic actuators widely used. Numerous challenges exist, however, when implementing actuators with large movement stroke and high force. Thermal actuators need higher power, and heat loads are an issue in many applications and multiply in array usage. Parallel plate electrostatic actuators offer the benefit of compact size, simple fabrication, and near-zero power requirement when holding fixed position, but require higher voltage to overcome the forces required in large stroke applications. This often necessitates external power supplies, eliminating the size reduction offered MEMS technology. Lorentz magnetic actuators offer low voltage operation, at the expense of size increase for larger magnets and conductors. There is need to develop low voltage and power micro-actuators, that offer large stroke and force, that can be powered by on-chip drive circuits. The long-term objective of this research is to contribute to the development, optimization, and application of MEMS and micro-actuator technologies. The proposed research will undertake the following investigations towards high stroke micro-actuators, that have low voltage and power requirements. Novel tri-electrode actuators will be investigated, that offer the combined benefits of reduced voltage, extended range before snap-down, and compact size. They are a new category of parallel plate electrostatic actuators, and their performance needs to be studied and optimized in consideration of their design, the fabrication materials used, and specific application. Fabrication methods will be developed and experimentally implemented, to explore their performance in narrow aspect devices and micro-switches, and controllable focus and large rotation angle mirrors. Low voltage and compact Lorentz actuator arrays will also be an investigation, and applied towards deformable mirrors. Large diameter flexible metal-polymer mirrors will be developed, and implemented with these two categories of actuators, with the goal to enable compact long stroke deformable and adaptive optics systems. Finally, flexible PCB substrates will be explored, with tri-electrode and Lorentz actuator arrays, for low cost deformable surfaces. The developed actuator technologies will offer advance to broad MEMS applications, such as long stroke high isolation switches and variable capacitors, variable focus mirrors, long stroke low cost adaptive optics (for microscopy, astronomy, optical communications), and adaptive RF components.