Pull-in study of an electrostatic torsion microactuator

TLDR

Pull‑in analysis of electrostatic microactuators is essential for effective actuation, and the torsion microactuator can serve as a micro‑torsion mirror. The paper presents pull‑in analysis for an electrostatic torsion microactuator. The authors derive a polynomial equation for pull‑in voltage and angle and present two bulk‑micromachined torsion microactuator designs. Measured pull‑in behavior of the fabricated devices deviates less than 1 % from the theoretical predictions.

Abstract

Pull-in study of an electrostatic microactuator is essential for making the electrostatic actuation more effective. In this paper, pull-in analysis is presented for an electrostatic torsion microactuator. The torsion microactuator can be used as a microtorsion mirror. A polynomial algebraic equation for the pull-in voltage and pull-in angle of a torsion microactuator is derived. Two types of microactuators fabricated using bulk micromachining are presented. Measurements done on the fabricated microactuators are reported, showing deviations within 1% error from the calculations.