title: Design and characterization of a microelectromechanical system electro-thermal linear motor with interlock mechanism for micro manipulators.
abstract: The design, fabrication, and testing of a novel electro-thermal linear motor for micro manipulators is presented in this paper. The V-shape electro-thermal actuator arrays, micro lever, micro spring, and slider are introduced. In moving operation, the linear motor can move nearly 1 mm displacement with 100 μm each step while keeping the applied voltage as low as 17 V. In holding operation, the motor can stay in one particular position without consuming energy and no creep deformation is found. Actuation force of 12.7 mN indicates the high force generation capability of the device. Experiments of lifetime show that the device can wear over two million cycles of operation. A silicon-on-insulator wafer is introduced to fabricate a high aspect ratio structure and the chip size is 8.5 mm × 8.5 mm × 0.5 mm.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Manufacturing System, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Tengjiang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Manufacturing System, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Manufacturing System, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Xiuyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Manufacturing System, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: You
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Science and Technology on Applied Physical Chemistry Laboratory, Shaanxi Applied Physical Chemistry Research Institute, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Yingwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai