Controlling Levitation and Enhancing Displacement in Electrostatic Comb Drives of MEMS Actuators

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Abstract
Capacitive comb actuators are widely used as MEMS motors due to their long range of linear motion, low power consumption, and ease of fabrication. Here, we present data from a thin comb capacitive actuator where fringe fields contribute significantly to the device performance. We characterize the observed levitation effect and discuss two methods to control the out-of-plane forces: 1) by means of alternating the comb polarity; and 2) by using an additional electrode below the comb. Considering two alternative designs, it is shown how the levitation force can be mitigated. One design decreases the out-of-plane motion by a factor of two, but also reduces the lateral range. An alternative design proved successful in decreasing out-of-plane motion by 75%, while enhancing the in-plane displacement of the linear comb actuator by over 35%.
Funding Information
  • Boston University. Subject Editor N. de Rooij

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