A novel electrostatic based microgripper (cellgripper) integrated with contact sensor and equipped with vibrating system to release particles actively

This paper presents design and simulation of a novel electrostatic microelectromechanical systems gripper with an integrated capacitive contact sensor. Moreover, this microgripper is able to employ vibration to release micro objects (cells) actively. Lateral comb drive system is used to close the gap between the gripper arms and hold the objects while the transverse comb differential capacitances act as a contact sensor to prevent damaging the fragile micron-sized particles specifically biological cells. In addition, the capability of the microgripper in generating vibration at the end-effectors electrostatically is an advantage to facilitate releasing process by overbalancing the adhesion forces between the particle and the gripper arm. Finite element analysis based simulations are carried out to estimate the behavior of the microgripper while the standard SOI-MUMPs micromachining process is proposed for fabrication of the microgripper.     

Design enhancement of a chevron electrothermally actuated microgripper for improved gripping performance

In this paper design modifications are proposed in microgripper design using two in-plane chevron electrothermal actuators. The design modifications are, converting free–free gripping arm into a clamped-free gripping arm and inclusion of the heat sinks in the shuttle. The modified design provides reduced temperature at the gripping jaws and higher gripping force. The proposed microgripper is modelled analytically and numerically using MEMS CAD tool CoventorWare. The performance of the microgripper such as displacement, force and temperature for the voltage range of 0–1.2 V is evaluated through numerical and analytical simulation. The results demonstrate the feasibility of fabrication. Further the gripper is made of polysilicon which allows operating the gripper at lower voltage.     

Design, implementation and testing of electrostatic SOI MUMPs based microgripper

This paper presents a detail modeling, finite element analysis and testing results of MEMS based electrostatically actuated microgripper. Interdigitated lateral comb pairs have been used to actuate the microgripper. The microgripper is optimized using standard SOI-MUMPs technology in L-Edit of MEMS-Pro with dual jaws actuation at low voltages. Coupled electromechanical finite element analysis performed in COVENTOR-WARE shows total displacement of 15.5 μm at jaws tip at 50 V, which is quite comparable to experimental result of 17 μm displacement at the tip of gripper jaw for the same voltage. Micromanipulation experiments have successfully demonstrated the gripping, holding micro-objects between 53 and 70 μm in size. The simulated model is used to study detail profile of Von Mises stresses and deformations in the model. It is noted that maximum stress in microgripper is 200 MPa which is much smaller than yield stress of 7 GPa. The slight difference between finite element analysis and experimental results is because of small variations in process material parameters. The total size of gripper is 5.03 × 6.5 mm².     

Silicon-processed overhanging microgripper

A silicon-processed microgripper, suitable for mounting on a micropositioner, has been designed and fabricated by combining surface and bulk micromachining. The microgripper consists of a silicon die (7 mm×5 mm), a 1.5 mm long support cantilever, made from boron-doped silicon substrate material (protruding from the die), and a 400 μm long polysilicon overhanging gripper extending from the end of the support cantilever. The microgripper is electrostatically driven by flexible, interdigitated comb pairs and has significantly smaller feature sizes than have been reported previously for overhanging microstructures. Problems addressed successfully in the microgripper fabrication include the protection of surface-micromachined fine structures during bulk-silicon etching and rinsing. The microgripper has successfully seized several microscopic objects in laboratory experiments     

压电谐振驱动三足机器人的平面运动

设计并实现了一类利用压电陶瓷片作动,由三条曲梁足支撑的振动驱动机器人.建立了在一条足共振驱动下机器人水平运动的动力学方程,数值计算解释了摩擦作用下的运动机理,寻找到异性摩擦对运动方向、速度的影响和压电激励频率与运动速度间的关系.通过建立圆弧曲梁控制方程求解圆弧型足面内振动的固有频率及振型,设计了三组不同频率的圆弧曲梁足参数,实验制作了机器人模型,利用压电控制三足间振动的共振切换,实现了预想的三个方向的运动以达到平面运动的效果,实验测量了机器人的运动速度与理论计算吻合得较好.     

A self-aligned fabrication method of dual comb drive using multilayers SOI process for optical MEMS applications

A novel method for fabricating a self-aligned electrostatic dual comb drive using a multi-layer SOI process is developed. The present method utilizes four aligned masks, greatly simplify the existing SOI-MEMS fabrication methods in manufacturing optical MEMS devices. Here, the actuating structure consists of fixed combs and moving combs that are composed of single crystal silicon, nitride and polysilicon. One mask is used to provide a deep etching to etch polysilicon, nitride and single crystal silicon respectively. The nitride separates polysilicon and single crystal silicon and provides an additional dielectric for the purpose of producing bi- directional motion upon applying electrostatic forces. A dual comb drive actuator with optical structures was fabricated with the developed process. The actuator is capable of motion 250 nm downward and 480 nm upward with 30 V applied voltage at 4 kHz frequency. The dynamic characteristics of the first and the second resonant frequency of the dual comb-drive actuator are 10.5 kHz and 23 kHz respectively. Experimental results indicated that the measured data agreed well with simulation results using the ANSOFT Maxwell^® 2D field simulator, ANSYS^® and Coventor Ware^®.     

A rotary comb-actuated microgripper with a large displacement range

This paper reports a novel design for electrostatic microgrippers. The new structure utilizes rotary comb actuators to solve the pull-in problem of microgrippers during large displacement manipulation and therefore avoids the widely used conversion systems which necessitate a high driving voltage. The gripper is fabricated using a SOI process with a 60 μm structural layer. Test results show the gripper obtained a displacement of 94 μm with an applied voltage of 100 V. An animal hair is gripped to demonstrate the applicability of the gripper for micro object manipulations.     

微电热驱动器中偏置层的分析

设计了一种电热微驱动器,根据几何关系、泰勒公式和材料力学求得偏置层结构末端的位移公式,并验证了采用镍作为偏置层材料的合理性.通过Coventorware软件中的有限元模块进行仿真分析,得出施加驱动电压为5 V,响应时间为5 ms,驱动器的初始温度为300 K时,得出偏置层宽度W1与驱动器位移d的曲线关系.通过验证驱动器的最大应力为235 MPa,小于镍的许用应力,确定驱动器在W1=20μm可以进行可靠的工作.分析偏置层厚度和宽度的加工误差对驱动器末端位移的影响,可得在对偏置层进行加工时要严格控制偏置层厚度H1的加工误差.     

Metallic microgripper with SU-8 adaptor as end-effectors for heterogeneous micro/nano assembly applications

This paper presents design, fabrication, and characterization of easy-to-handle electroplated nickel microgrippers with SU-8 adaptors for heterogeneous micro/nano assembly applications. Two distinctive designs of microgrippers as end-effectors of micro/nano assembly applications have been developed in this work. The first design is 200 m thick electroplated nickel microgripper with a plastic mechanical displacement amplifier that is driven by a piezoelectric actuator. The piezoelectric actuator is capable of creating 5 m displacement which is amplified to 10 m by the plastic mechanical amplifier and finally such displacement generates 50–139 m microgripper tip displacement. The second design is 20 m thick electroplated nickel microgripper embedded in SU-8 adaptor for easy-to-handle operation. The second design is electro-thermally actuated using a set of joule-heated bent beams. With applied actuation voltage in the range of 2–4 V, the microgripper generates tip displacement of 4–32 m. Extensive thermal and mechanical finite element modeling have been carried out and measurement results were compared with the simulation results. Such developed easy-to-handle microgrippers can be used for micro/nano pick-and-place assembly applications.This work was supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology-Advanced Technology Program (NIST-ATP 70NANB1H3021). The authors would like to thank the members of Design Engineering Group at Zyvex Corporation, Mr. Yohannes Desta from the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD) at Louisiana State University for the valuable technical discussions, and the members of Micro and Nano Device and Systems (MiNDS) Laboratory and Cleanroom staffs at the University of Texas at Dallas.     

Hybrid micro electrostatic actuator

A hybrid micro-electrostatic actuator is presented. The actuator integrates a vertical comb driving (VCD) unit and a parallel-plate driving (PPD) unit. The hybrid actuator is fabricated using a one structural layer microfabrication process, i.e., MetalMUMPs instead of a two-layer microfabrication process needed for traditional vertical comb-drive actuators by taking advantage of the residual stress gradient in the MetalMUMPs nickel layer, which raises the moving parts of the actuator above the substrate after release. The hybrid actuator significantly simplifies the fabrication process for vertical comb-drive actuators, i.e., turning a process requiring two structural layers into a process requiring only one structural layer and thus avoids any misalignment between the two layers. The hybrid actuator can generate larger force and then a larger displacement than the actuator having only the VCD with the same area since no extra space is needed for the PPD unit which uses the moving electrode existing in the VCD unit and a fixed electrode under the VCD unit. The VCD and PPD units in the hybrid actuator are subject to the same driving voltage and work together to pull the moving parts of the actuator downward. A model is established for the hybrid actuator to analyze its displacement. The analytical results show that displacement of the moving part of the hybrid actuator is about half of the gap between the electrodes of the PPD unit. Prototypes are fabricated and tested. With a driving voltage of 150 V, the hybrid actuator achieved a measured displacement of 6.48 µm.     

Microgrippers created in microstructurable glass

 In this paper a new microgripper will be presented. The specific feature is the microfabrication based on a UV-lithographic process in microstructurable, photosensitive glass. Technological and manufacturing problems of the gripper will be described. The developed microgripper is actuated by a piezoelectric ceramic (monomorph). Glass microstructures are used as solid state hinges. With the special design of the gripper it is possible to realise a high distance ratio. The deflection of the gripping arms is some hundred micrometers. The gripping forces are a few mN up to 50 mN. The new grippers were fabricated and tested successfully. Received: 20 December 1996/Accepted: 9 January 1997     

一种集成微力检测的压电式微夹钳

针对微装配任务设计了一种双悬臂梁结构的压电双晶片微夹钳,该微夹钳由两个压电双晶片驱动．建立了压电双晶片的复合梁模型,并对它的微位移—电压特性、夹持力—应变特性进行了数学分析．通过检测悬臂梁根部的应变信号实现对微夹钳夹持力的检测．实验证明该微夹钳工作可靠,能够满足微装配机器人装配任务的要求．     

A soft gripper with variable stiffness inspired by pangolin scales,toothed pneumatic actuator and autonomous controller

Aiming at combining compliant covering and rigid lifting to the object grasping, this paper presents the design principle of a variable stiffness soft gripper and carries out its structural design, gripper fabrication and controller development. The proposed soft finger is composed of a variable stiffness layer and a pneumatic driven layer. The variable stiffness layer is inspired by the pangolins whose scales are flexible in daily activities and become tough when being threatened by predators. A toothed pneumatic actuator is designed to supply power with increased stiffness. The three-finger soft gripper is fabricated by 3D printing and molding of super elastic material. The tests for verifying grasping capability and variable stiffness are implemented. Experimental results show that the gripper can grasp a large variety of objects and achieve enhanced stiffness. The stiffness of the gripper is more than twice higher than the pneumatic gripper without variable stiffness structure. Finally, the control system for autonomous grasping is developed. The control block is divided into the actuation layer, information processing layer and user interface layer. According to the grasping process, the feedback signals in the information processing layer are collected by sensors. A safe grasping assessment is added to the control scheme for changing the gripper stiffness autonomously, which differs from the traditional soft gripper controller. The proposed soft gripper has variable stiffness, enhanced pneumatic input, autonomous control system. Therefore, it has great potential to be applied in the unstructured environment for effective, adaptable and safe object grasping.     

A micro electromagnetic low level vibration energy harvester based on MEMS technology

This paper presents a micro electromagnetic energy harvester which can convert low level vibration energy to electrical power. It mainly consists of an electroplated copper planar spring, a permanent magnet and a copper planar coil with high aspect ratio. Mechanical simulation shows that the natural frequency of the magnet-spring system is 94.5 Hz. The resonant vibration amplitude of the magnet is 259.1 μm when the input vibration amplitude is 14 μm and the magnet-spring system is at resonance. Electromagnetic simulation shows that the linewidth and the turns of the coil influence the induced voltage greatly. The optimized electromagnetic vibration energy harvester can generate 0.7 μW of maximal output power with peak–peak voltage of 42.6 mV in an input vibration frequency of 94.5 Hz and input acceleration of 4.94 m/s² (this vibration is a kind of low level ambient vibration). A prototype (not optimized) has been fabricated using MEMS micromachining technology. The testing results show that the prototype can generate induced voltage (peak–peak) of 18 mV and output power of 0.61 μW for 14.9 m/s² external acceleration at its resonant frequency of 55 Hz (this vibration is not in a low ambient vibration level).     

用于硅基氮化镓可调微镜的静电梳齿型微驱动器设计

提出并设计了一种用于硅基氮化镓(GaN)可调微镜的静电梳齿型微驱动器.利用有限元软件建立了该器件的几何结构模型,对器件的结构进行了仿真优化.此外,采用微机电系统(MEMS)加工工艺,制作出了用于硅基氮化镓可调微镜的梳齿型微驱动器,并对其驱动特性进行测试.测试结果表明:所制作的微驱动器的位移随着电压的变化呈二次方关系,与仿真结果基本一致.当加载驱动电压为200 V时,微驱动器的驱动位移可达到1.08 μm.     

A piezoelectric model based multi-objective optimization of robot gripper design

The field of robotics is evolving at a very high pace and with its increasing applicability in varied fields, the need to incorporate optimization analysis in robot system design is becoming more prominent. The present work deals with the optimization of the design of a 7-link gripper. As actuators play a crucial role in functioning of the gripper, the actuation system (piezoelectric (PZ), in this case) is also taken into consideration while performing the optimization study. A minimalistic model of PZ actuator, consisting different series and parallel assembly arrangements for both mechanical and electrical parts of the PZ actuators, is proposed. To include the effects of connector spring, the relationship of force with actuator displacement is replaced by the relation between force and the displacement of point of actuation at the physical system. The design optimization problem of the gripper is a non-linear, multi modal optimization problem, which was originally formulated by Osyczka (2002). In the original work, however, the actuator was a ‘constant output-force actuator model’ providing a constant output without describing the internal structure. Thus, the actuator model was not integrated in the optimization study. Four different cases of the PZ modelling have been solved using multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA). Relationship between force and actuator displacement is obtained using each set of non-dominated solutions. These relationships can provide a better insight to the end user to select the appropriate voltage and gripper design for specific application.     

Resonant-Type Smooth Impact Drive Mechanism Actuator with Two Langevin Transducers

A smooth impact drive mechanism (SIDM) is a unique piezoelectric actuator that is widely used as a camera focusing mechanism, cell phone lens movement mechanism, etc. This principle enables a compact driving mechanism; however, it cannot generate high-speed movement because a soft-type multilayered piezoelectric transducer (PZT) is utilized at off-resonant movement. This paper proposes a resonant-type SIDM actuator driven with hard-type PZTs to realize high-speed and powerful operation. The fundamental principle is also based on the conventional SIDM; therefore, a saw-shaped movement is required. To generate a high-power ultrasonic output, two Langevin transducers are adopted instead of a soft-type multilayered PZT. One Langevin transducer was a stator and the other was slider whose tip was adhered to a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) rod. The CFRP rod was connected to the stator transducer with the frictional force. To obtain quasi-saw-shaped vibration, the longitudinal vibration for each Langevin transducer was excited and these movements were added at the connection point at the CFRP rod. In order to combine these vibration modes, the lengths of the stator and slider Langevin transducers were designed to make the resonant frequencies ratio to be 1:2. By using the proposed principle, the slider Langevin transducer was successfully driven with the speed of 0.11 m/s and the output force was 1.8 N with no load.     

Design and testing of a microgripper with SMA actuator for manipulation of micro components

The extremely high work-to-volume ratios of the SMA actuators make them suitable to be used as a powerful actuator in micro-scale manipulation. In this study, an easily manufacturable micro-gripper with shape memory alloy (SMA) wire actuator was designed and manufactured. The concept of the designed micro-gripper was based on flexible hinge structures to increase the deflection efficiency and strength. The size of microgripper was a significant criterion in our design. Also, innovative layout in locating of SMA wire caused the microgripper to gripe and manipulate a boarder range of objects. The finite element method was used to analyze and calculate the stress distribution and jaw’s deflection in the gripper. In order to verify the modeling results, an experimental analysis by building a set-up for micro-gripper and running tests were implemented and it showed a good agreement with the modeling results. The approximate size of the micro-gripper is about 12 × 10 mm and its maximum achievable deflection is 200 μm which is perceptibly higher than SMA actuated micro-grippers with the same size.

     

Design principle of micromechanical probe with an electrostatic actuator for friction force microscopy

It is important to understand friction force in micro/nano mechanical devices both at high sliding speed and with high lateral resolution. Dual-axis friction force microscopes that can provide high lateral resolution and accuracy have been proposed; however, the sliding speed is limited by the probe scan speed. While a micro mechanical probe (MMP) with an electrostatic actuator can overcome this problem, details of probe design have not been established yet. This paper presents the principle of the mechanical design for an MMP with high force sensitivity and sufficient drive force. The dimensions of the double cantilever beam control the spring constants, resonant frequencies, and drive force. The use of an actuated MMP enables accurate friction force microscopy at high sliding speeds, which is required for the design of micro/nano mechanical devices.     

MEMS石英振梁高增益谐振电路的设计与分析

介绍了一种基于新型高阻抗QVBA的高增益谐振电路设计和谐振电路的分析测试实验。利用阻抗分析仪4294A测得石英振梁的等效参数,对石英振梁的电气特性进行分析,发现高阻抗石英振梁起振比普通晶振需要更高增益。基于双门振荡电路,利用运算放大器在开环系统中具有无限增益的理论,提高谐振电路的驱动能力。同时采用谐波抑制网络,指出谐波抑制网络可以抑制无用的频率避免传感器输出信号出现泛音频率,并提高谐振电路的稳频速度。考虑电噪声对输出波形质量的影响,在电路的输入部分采用滤波电容,并在电路的输出部分采用反向器整形,使电路输出标准的方波信号。最后利用安捷伦DSO5012A型号示波器和频率计对高增益谐振电路和石英振梁组成的谐振系统进行测试,测试结果表明本文设计的谐振电路与石英振梁组成的谐振系统可以输出标准的方波信号,输出频率精度达到10-5 kHz,在振动稳定以后频率变化小于0.1 Hz,无泛音频率出现,对研究高精度MEMS加速度计传感器具有重要意义。