Micro Motion Amplifiers for Compact Out-of-Plane Actuation

Small-scale, out-of-plane actuators can enable tactile interfaces; however, achieving sufficient actuator force and displacement can require larger actuators. In this work, 2-mm(2) out-of-plane microactuators were created, and were demonstrated to output up to 6.3 µm of displacement and 16 mN of blocking force at 170 V. The actuators converted in-plane force and displacement from a piezoelectric extensional actuator into out-of-plane force and displacement using robust, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-enabled, half-scissor amplifiers. The microscissors employed two layers of lithographically patterned SU-8 epoxy microstructures, laminated with a thin film of structural polyimide and adhesive to form compact flexural hinges that enabled the actuators’ small area. The self-aligned manufacture minimized assembly error and fabrication complexity. The scissor design dominated the actuators’ performance, and the effects of varying scissor angle, flexure thickness, and adhesive type were characterized to optimize the actuators’ output. Reducing the microscissor angle yielded the highest actuator performance, as it maximized the amplification of the half-scissor’s displacement and minimized scissor deformation under externally applied loads. The actuators’ simultaneously large displacements and blocking forces for their size were quantified by a high displacement-blocking force product per unit area of up to 50 mN·µm/mm(2). For a linear force–displacement relationship, this corresponds to a work done per unit area of 25 mN·µm/mm(2).