Self-powered integrated opto-electro-mechanical nano-actuators

Abstract

Miniaturized actuators are needed to produce mechanical displacements at micro- and nano-scales. Existing actuation methods suffer from a combination of loss of coupling efficiency at small scales, complex manufacturing processes, and high power consumption. Here, we demonstrate the use of an optical signal to modulate the internal mechanical strain between the two sides of regular p-n junctions in order to produce displacements in a coupled microstructure. The measured displacement of the opto-electro-mechanically actuated microdevice increased by 7 folds compared to the noise-excited system and a displacement of ~150 pm was registered. A physical model for device operation is presented and experimentally validated with a microfabricated prototype. It was shown that the actuators can be controlled remotely by varying the light intensity without a local energy supply. The operating principle the actuators is independent of device dimensions and can be implemented in mainstream manufacturing processes, making the reported method a promising candidate for the development of remotely operated micro- and nano-systems. • Nano-actuators that are excited optically without a need for local energy source. • Utilizing regular p-n junctions for actuation with simple fabrication. • Efficient transduction at nano-scales. • Physical model for the opto-electro-mechanical energy transfer. • Experimental results for biased and unbiased structures.