The fabrication of a 3D silicon linear microactuator is presented. This actuator is realized by anisotropic chemical etching of a (110) oriented silicon wafer. The silicon monolithic structure of the microactuator is constituted by a fixed part bonded on a glass substrate and a movable part suspended by two elastic beams. The displacement of the movable part is consequently frictionless and is obtained by electrostatic forces. Some mechanical and electrostatic tests are presented. Moreover, with the aim of using this device for microscopy applications, some results have been achieved concerning the isotropic etching of tips on a (110) oriented silicon wafer. It would therefore be possible to integrate a tip onto a movable part for effective application in atomic force or scanning tunneling microscopy.
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