Thermo-Mechanical response of an electrically driven micro-actuator

Thermo-mechanical response of a polysilicon beam structured two hot arm horizontal actuators are investigated under electrical load. This thermo-mechanical device is operated by differential thermal expansion caused by resistive Joule heating to generate thermal expansion and movement. The present research demonstrates a good comprehension of the phenomena during Joule heating process for micro systems and the development of an analytical model and a finite element analysis. Numerically simulated results validate the analytical model at the steady state conditions. This simple device can generate a temperature of 1389K and produce a deflection of the order of 12μm at the level of low operating voltage (10 volts).