TDesign and fabrication of a three-dimensional long-stretch micro drive by electroplating

Here a three-dimensional micoractuator is proposed by integrating an electro-thermal long stretch micro drive (LSMD) and mechanical hinge mechanism. The mechanical hinge is used to allow the LSMD to be lifted. One of the important issues in fabricating the lifted microactuator is the conducting circuit to actuate the microactuator. Here the electroplating process is used to fabricate the mechanical hinge structure and the LSMD, and then the mechanical hinge itself can act as the conductive circuit easily. The fabrication and testing result show that the three-dimensional LSMD of 2000 μm wide and 500 μ m high can stand vertically with output displacement up to 56 μm at input voltage of 2 volts. However, it is found that the output displacement of three-dimensional LSMD is smaller than planar LSMD with substrate beneath due to the lacking of heat conduction at the same input voltage.