Fabrication and Evaluation of Flexible Microgripper

A new concept of a microgripper using Lorentz force actuation and electrothermal bimorph actuation is presented here. Design, theoretical consideration, fabrication process and characterization results are presented. Many free-standing fingers, ranging from 200 µ m to 1000 µ m in length, have been fabricated successfully by the micromachining process. We have observed the low driving voltage performance and the flexible finger motion of the flexible microgripper (FMG) under the microscope. A 210 µ m deflection of a 1000-µm-long finger was obtained at the input voltage of 1 V.