Design and performance of a high loading electrostatic micro linear motor

Abstract

This paper reports design and performance of a new micro linear motor (MLM) driven by electrostatic comb-drive actuators based on SOI-MEMS technology. In this motor, a shuttle with six wings on the each side is moved by the electrostatic comb-drive actuators through ratchet teeth in the direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the ratchet racks. The MLM was fabricated from SOI (silicon on insulator) wafer by using only one photo mask. The bidirectional movement of the shuttle has been tested with AC driving voltage of Vpp = 100 V and driving frequency ranged from 1 to 10 Hz. In our experiments, the displacement of the shuttle after each step is approximately 10 µm and the obtained travel equals 500 µm. Through measurement of the deflection of a test beam, the load capacity is estimated as 352.97 µN. This MLM has dimensions of 5 × 5 mm2 and can be applied in a micro assembling system to lift/drop micro samples or in micro transportation systems, etc.