Open AccessOut‐of‐plane buckled cantilever microstructures with adjustable angular positions using thermal bimorph actuation for transducer applications
Author(s) -
Arevalo Arpys,
Conchouso David,
Castro David,
Diaz Marlon,
Foulds Ian G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
micro and nano letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1750-0443
DOI - 10.1049/mnl.2015.0198
Subject(s) - bimorph , cantilever , actuator , transducer , materials science , angular displacement , thermal , acoustics , position (finance) , plane (geometry) , optics , optoelectronics , piezoelectricity , composite material , physics , electrical engineering , engineering , geometry , meteorology , mathematics , finance , economics
The integration of thermal bimorph actuators and buckled cantilever structures to form an out‐of‐plane plate with adjustable angular positions is reported. This structure could be used as a platform to build other transducers such as optical micromirrors, scanning antennas, switches or low‐frequency oscillators. The electromechanical characterisation has shown that these structures can adjust their angular position by 6° when they are operated using a DC source. The thermal characterisation performed by an infrared camera showed that the heat‐affected zone reaches a maximum temperature of 125°C while the rest of the structure remains unaffected by the generated heat.