Scaling laws of microactuators and potential applications of electroactive polymers in MEMS

Besides the scale factor that distinguishes the various spices fundamentally biological muscles changes little between species indicating a highly optimized system, Electroactive polymer actuators offer the closest resemblance to biological muscles however beside the large actuation displacement these materials are falling short with regards to the actuation force. As improved materials emerging it is becoming necessary to address key issues such as the need for effective electromechanical modeling and guiding parameters in scaling the actuators. In this paper, we will review the scaling laws for three major actuation mechanisms that are of relevance to micro electromechanical systems: electrostatic actuation, magnetic actuation, thermal bimetallic actuation, and piezoelectric actuation.

[1]  R. B. Cohen,et al.  Digital MicroPropulsion , 1999, Technical Digest. IEEE International MEMS 99 Conference. Twelfth IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (Cat. No.99CH36291).

[2]  M. Madou.  Fundamentals of microfabrication , 1997 .

[3]  J. Gardner,et al.  Microsensors: Principles and Applications , 1994 .

[4]  J. Bryzek,et al.  Micromachines on the march , 1994, IEEE Spectrum.

[5]  R F Service.  Silicon Chips Find Role As in Vivo Pharmacist , 1999, Science.

[6]  Hiroyuki Fujita,et al.  A decade of MEMS and its future , 1997, Proceedings IEEE The Tenth Annual International Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. An Investigation of Micro Structures, Sensors, Actuators, Machines and Robots.

[7]  G. Kovacs.  Micromachined Transducers Sourcebook , 1998 .

[8]  W. Ko,et al.  Touch mode capacitive pressure sensors for industrial applications , 1997, Proceedings IEEE The Tenth Annual International Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. An Investigation of Micro Structures, Sensors, Actuators, Machines and Robots.