A pivot-hinged, multilayer SU-8 micro motion amplifier assembled by a self-aligned approach

The design, fabrication, and characterization of an out-of-plane micro tactile actuator that employs pivot hinges fabricated by a multilayer self-aligned approach to deliver exceptional high force and large displacement are demonstrated. The device includes a piezoelectric extensional actuator that vibrates in plane and a micro-fabricated motion amplifier to convert the in-plane vibrations to larger out-of-plane vibrations. These advances are enabled by a self-aligned assembly process that eliminates the need to fabricate re-entrant SU-8 multilayers. For pivot-hinged actuators with 10 mm2 and 2 mm2 areas, maximum displacements of 9.8 μm and 5.5 μm respectively and maximum forces of 9.6 mN and 5.9 mN respectively are reported.