Design, Microfabricaiton and Testing of Laterally-Resonating Polysilicon Microactuators

Abstract

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of polysilicon electrostatic microactuators that resonate in the direction parallel to the silicon susbstrates. A set of six different designs has been developed using a theoretical model and design formulae developed for the mocroactuators. Microactuator prototypes are fabricated from a 2.1 -thick LPCVD polysilicon film, using a 4-mask surface-micromachining process. The prototypes are tested under a d.c. bias voltage of 45V with an a.c. drive voltage amplitude of 20 v.Measured resorant frequencies are in the ranges of 40-60 kHz, showing a good agreement to their theoretical estimates within error bounds of ..5%. Important issues inthe design and microfabrication of the microactuators are discussed, together with potential applicaitons of the key technology involved.