Optimal design and fabrication of MEMS rotary thermal actuators

In this investigation, a new MEMS (microelectromechanical system) thermal actuator producing rotational motions is designed and tested. Typical rotary actuators employ electro static comb drives, but rotary thermal actuators can produce larger force rotary motion under much smaller voltage input. For optimal rotary actuator design, an ECP (element connectivity parameterization) topology optimization was employed. The MEMS fabrication process was used to fabricate an optimized MEMS actuator, and its superior performance was compared with that of nominal actuators.