Design, fabrication and testing of new comb actuators realizing three-dimensional continuous motions

Abstract We have designed and developed three types of stage (types A, B and C) driven by comb actuators. Each stage consists of a traveling table, suspensions and a comb actuator(s). Types A and B lift-up the traveling table with and without a lateral displacement, respectively. Type C changes the angle of the traveling table. The key to realizing three-dimensional motions in the stages is in the geometry of the suspensions, which incorporate a pair of leaf springs inclined at 45° against the substrate. First, the motions of the suspensions were analyzed by finite element method (FEM). Then the three types of stage were fabricated on an silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer. The relation between the motion of the traveling table and driving voltage was examined for the three kinds of stage. The lift-up amount and tilting angle increased with higher driving voltage. The maximum lift-up amount of type A was 1 μm when the driving voltage was 170 V. For type B, the maximum lift-up amount was 1.9 μm when the tilting angle was less than 0.1°. The maximum tilting angle of type C was 0.3° at the driving voltage of 190 V.

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