열 기포에 의한 고체 박막의 변형 해석

Thermal bubbles find their diverse application areas in the MEMS (MicroElectroMechanial Systems) technology, including bubble jet printers, microactuators. micropumps, etc.. Especially, microactuators and micropumps, which use a microbubble growing by a controlled heat input, frequently involve mechanical and thermal interaction of the bubble with a solid structure, such as a cantilever beam and a membrane. Although the concept is experimentally verified that an internal pressure of the bubble can build up high enough to deflect a thin solid plate or a beam, the physics of the entire process have not yet been thoroughly explored. This work reports the experimental study of the growth of a thermal bubble while deflecting a thin cantilever beam. A physical model is presented to predict the elastic response of the cantilever beam based on the experimental measurements. The scaling law constructed through this work can provide a design guide for micro- and nano-systems that employ a thermal bubble for their actuation/pumping mechanism.