Study on Safe Working Condition of the Electrothermal U-Shaped Actuator

Abstract

This study aims to obtain safe working condition of the electrothermal U-shaped actuator (EUA). The finite difference method is applied for modeling and solving the steady electric-thermal state and maximum temperature of the microactuator. The critical voltages causing beam buckling and overheating phenomena are determined to avoid the axial instability as well as melting deformation of the actuator. The relationships between temperature and the frequency or amplitude of the AC are analyzed. The results showed that the structure and the applied voltage levels have significant influence on the temperature distributions and the value of the stress. It is confirmed that the temperature between 300 to 600 °C is comparatively suitable for microactuator according to theoretical and experimental analysis, and the microactuator is able to provide accurate and stable number of cycles for tens of millions.

Keywords:

• MEMS
• electrothermal actuator
• temperature distribution
• failure
• safe working condition

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge financial supports from the National Natural Science Foundation (51865025), the Scientific Research Projects of Colleges and Universities in Gansu Province (2021A-138, 2019A-134), the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province of China (21JR1RA323, 18JR3RA225), the Longyuan Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent Team Project (2020RCXM132).