DEVELOPMENT OF A V-SHAPED ELECTROTHERMAL MICRO ACTUATOR FOR UNIDIRECTIONAL ROTARY MOTOR DRIVING

Abstract

This paper presents the development of V-Shaped Electrothermal Micro actuators to design a new rotational micro motor (RMM), which consists of ratchet teeth, an outer ring (or rotor), and four symmetrically V-Shaped Electrothermal Micro actuators. The rotational micro motor has an outer diameter of only 2.5 mm and is thermally calculated using the finite difference method, showing high accuracy compared to simulation results. Force calculations and working voltage conditions are also discussed in detail. An improved bulk - micromachining process using silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer and platinum sputter surface deposition to reduce the driving voltage has been applied successfully. The micromotor samples have been successfully experimentally manufactured. High-resolution images captured by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) showcase remarkable clarity and closely resemble the blueprint. In the near future, the micromotor can be applied in different rotating transmission joints such as micro robot systems, micro - assembly, micro - transportation systems, micro -integrated systems, biochemical analysis system, and other applications.