A Gap-Closing Electrostatic Actuator With a Linear Extended Range

We present a gap-closing electrostatic actuator with a linear extended range. We achieve this by designing a nonlinear spring that exactly counteracts the nonlinear effects of electrostatic attraction forces in gap-closing actuators. We demonstrate this on parallel-plates actuators with a nominal ga...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of microelectromechanical systems 2013-10, Vol.22 (5), p.1109-1114
Main Authors: Shmulevich, Shai, Rivlin, Ben, Hotzen, Inbar, Elata, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electrodes
Electrostatic actuators
Electrostatics
Exact sciences and technology
extended range
Force
gap-closing
General equipment and techniques
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
linear response
nonlinear springs
Physics
Springs
Structural beams
Transducers
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Summary:We present a gap-closing electrostatic actuator with a linear extended range. We achieve this by designing a nonlinear spring that exactly counteracts the nonlinear effects of electrostatic attraction forces in gap-closing actuators. We demonstrate this on parallel-plates actuators with a nominal gap of g=21 μm. The initial response up to a deflection of g/4 is stable and is inevitably nonlinear, but beyond this point we demonstrate good linearity up to a displacement of 85% of the nominal gap. By introducing the nonlinear spring, we also avoid the pull-in instability, which would have occurred at a voltage of 31 V. Instead, the system is stable and the driving voltage may be increased up to 130 V where the maximal displacement is achieved.
ISSN:1057-7157
1941-0158
DOI:10.1109/JMEMS.2013.2276027