Insect-model based microrobot with elastic hinges

Suzuki, Kenta; Shimoyama, Isao; Miura, Hirofumi

doi:10.1109/84.285718

Cited by 100 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…A key advance was made with the realization that fully 3-D structures can be made by rotating parts out of the wafer plane, and latching them into position. Suitable hinges based on elastic links [41], [42] were rapidly superseded by polysilicon staple hinges [43]- [45]. These can easily be integrated into multi-user MEMS processes as shown in Fig.…”

Section: -D Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface tension-powered self-assembly of microstructures - The state-of-the-art

Syms¹,

Yeatman²,

Bright

et al. 2003

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

323

238

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Abstract-Because of the low dimensional power of its force scaling law, surface tension is appropriate for carrying out reshaping and assembly in the microstructure size domain. This paper reviews work on surface tension powered self-assembly of microstructures. The existing theoretical approaches for rotational assembly are unified. The demonstrated fabrication processes are compared. Mechanisms for accurately determining the assembled shape are discussed, and the limits on accuracy and structural distortion are considered. Applications in optics, electronics and mechanics are described. More complex operations (including the combination of self-assembly and self-organization) are also reviewed.[926]Index Terms-Capillary force, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microsystems, microoptoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS), self-assembly, surface tension.

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Section: -D Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface tension-powered self-assembly of microstructures - The state-of-the-art

Syms¹,

Yeatman²,

Bright

et al. 2003

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

323

238

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…T HIS paper describes the design, fabrication, and control of an untethered, electrostatic, MEMS micro-robot, with bounding dimensions of 60 by 250 by 10 . Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Untethered, Electrostatic, Globally Controllable MEMS Micro-Robot

Donald

Levey

McGray

et al. 2006

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

300

171

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Abstract-We present an untethered, electrostatic, MEMS micro-robot, with dimensions of 60 m by 250 m by 10 m. The device consists of a curved, cantilevered steering arm, mounted on an untethered scratch drive actuator (USDA). These two components are fabricated monolithically from the same sheet of conductive polysilicon, and receive a common power and control signal through a capacitive coupling with an underlying electrical grid. All locations on the grid receive the same power and control signal, so that the devices can be operated without knowledge of their position on the substrate. Individual control of the component actuators provides two distinct motion gaits (forward motion and turning), which together allow full coverage of a planar workspace. These MEMS micro-robots demonstrate turning error of less than 3.7 mm during forward motion, turn with radii as small as 176 m, and achieve speeds of over 200 m sec with an average step size as small as 12 nm. They have been shown to operate open-loop for distances exceeding 35 cm without failure, and can be controlled through teleoperation to navigate complex paths. The devices were fabricated through a multiuser surface micromachining process, and were postprocessed to add a patterned layer of tensile chromium, which curls the steering arms upward. After sacrificial release, the devices were transferred with a vacuum microprobe to the electrical grid for testing. This grid consists of a silicon substrate coated with 13-m microfabricated electrodes, arranged in an interdigitated fashion with 2-m spaces. The electrodes are insulated by a layer of electron-beam-evaporated zirconium dioxide, so that devices placed on top of the electrodes will experience an electrostatic force in response to an applied voltage. Control waveforms are broadcast to the device through the capacitive power coupling, and are decoded by the electromechanical response of the device body. Hysteresis in the system allows on-board storage of = 2 bits of state information in response to these electrical signals. The presence of on-board state information within the device itself allows each of the two device subsystems (USDA and steering arm) to be individually addressed and controlled. We describe this communication and control strategy and show necessary and sufficient conditions for voltage-selective actuation of all 2 system states, both for our devices ( = 2), and for the more general case (where is larger.)[1586]

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“…Manual assembly is usually performed using probing equipment under a microscope (1) . However, it is not suitable for high-density integration or batch fabrication since it is complicated, time-consuming and requires large areas for probing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self- Assembly and Magnetic Actuation of Three Dimensional Micro Hinged Mechanisms

et al. 2007

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This paper describes self-assembly of hinged mechanisms using thermal shrinkage of polyimide and actuation of the assembled mechanisms using external magnetic field. A schematic illustration of the 3D mechanism with the polyimide hinge is shown in Fig. 1. The proposed self-assembly method allows the hinged mechanism to be rotated out of the wafer plane by only heating and to stay bent without any interlocking mechanisms. The bending angle of the polyimide hinge depends on heating time, heating temperature, and length of the hinge. In these parameters, the heating time was found to be the most suitable for the control of the bending angle. The bending angle increases almost linearly with increasing heating time, and varies over a wide range from 30º to 170º.Using this self-assembly technique, a microcube was assembled from a planar structure that consisted of five free plates and a fixed plate connected by the polyimide hinges. It was cured at 500ºC for 90 minutes, which is the condition obtained experimentally to achieve 90º rotation of each plate. Fig. 2 shows SEM photographs of self-assembled microcubes. Many cubes were assembled simultaneously on the same wafer.Actuation of the structure after self-assembly will greatly expand the possibility of the application of 3D hinged structure. So, experiments in actuation of the self-assembled structure using external magnetic field were performed. A self-assembled structure that consisted of Ni plates and polyimide hinges were put in the magnetic field controlled by a solenoid coil to actuate the hinges from the assembled position. Fig. 3 (a) shows a CCD image of the hinged-structure after the polyimide hinges were heated at 500ºC for 50 minutes. The tilt angle of the plate adjacent to the fixed plate (θ 0 ) is 23º. When the magnetic field of 38.5kA/m was applied, the hinge was deformed elastically and the tilt angle θ became 60º. Furthermore the structure could be also vibrated by applying the alternating magnetic field.These results demonstrate that the proposed assembly process and actuation are promising techniques for batch fabrication and wireless actuation of truly 3-D micromechanisms. Non-memberThis paper describes three-dimensional (3D) micro structures fabricated using a simple self-assembly process involving the thermal shrinkage of polyimide. The proposed method enables hinged structures automatically to be rotated out of the wafer plane and to remain bent without the need to use any interlocking mechanisms. The hinged structures were fabricated using surface micromachining techniques involving heating in a furnace. An increase in the bending angle due to the shrinkage of polyimide was observed with increasing heating time, heating temperature, and length of the polyimide hinge. Of these three parameters, the heating time was found to be the most suitable for control of the bending angle. Microcubes were fabricated by this method and the self-assembly process was successfully visualized using a CCD camera. Furthermore, the hinged structures were actuated...

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Insect-model based microrobot with elastic hinges

Cited by 100 publications

References 14 publications

Surface tension-powered self-assembly of microstructures - The state-of-the-art

Surface tension-powered self-assembly of microstructures - The state-of-the-art

An Untethered, Electrostatic, Globally Controllable MEMS Micro-Robot

Self- Assembly and Magnetic Actuation of Three Dimensional Micro Hinged Mechanisms

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