This paper reports a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror with electrothermal polymer actuators for the diffusion sensor. A compact and high-speed diffusion sensor is desirable for point-of-care testing because of its real-time monitorability and portability, and because diffusion coefficient reflects the abnormality of biological samples such as proteins. Herein, a fringe-tunable elect...

This paper presents the modified design of a bidirectional electrothermal chevron beam microtweezer proposed by J. K. Luo [1]. The original design has been modified to include inward in-plane motion. Thus, the modified design is capable of bidirectional motion. The structures are designed and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2a. The bidirectional chevron beam microtweezer shows an in-plane...

Abstract This paper reports on a multi-purpose two-axis micropositioner with sub-nanometer position sensing for precise feedback control. Along each axis it has an electrothermal actuator, a capacitive position sensor and a displacement amplifier that provides a gain of 3.37 for the sensor. It is fabricated from custom SOI wafers using dry etching, and each component is electrically and thermal...

the technique used to control the airflow is based on the electro-hydrodynamic actuator which is also called plasma actuator. this actuator ensures the airflow control thanks to the electric wind created by the electrical corona discharge. this ionic wind is developed at the profile surface tangential to the initial free airflow so that it has a significant effect on the boundary layer flow. th...

Latching alignment stages for micro-opto-mechanical systems are constructed by deep reactive-ion etching of bonded silicon on insulator. Linear, rotary and tilt stages are demonstrated. Linear stages are driven using buckling electrothermal actuators, and latching is performed by a rack-and-tooth mechanism driven by shape bimorph actuators. In-plane rotation is obtained by using a linear actuat...

This paper reports on a multi-purpose two-axis micropositioner with sub-nanometer position sensing for precise feedback control. Along each axis it has an electrothermal actuator, a capacitive position sensor, and a displacement amplifier that provides a gain of 3.37 for the sensor. It is fabricated from custom SOI wafers using dry etching, and each component is electrically and thermally isola...

We theoretically investigate the impact of the electrothermal flow on the dielectrophoretic separation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). The electrothermal flow is observed to control the motions of semiconducting SWNTs in a sizeable domain near the electrodes under typical experimental conditions, therefore helping the dielectrophoretic force to attract semiconducting SWNTs in a broade...

Electrothermal flow is a promising technique in microfluidic manipulation toward laboratory automation applications, such as clinical diagnostics and high throughput drug screening. Despite the potential of electrothermal flow in biomedical applications, relative little is known about electrothermal manipulation of highly conductive samples, such as physiological fluids and buffer solutions. In...

A microrobotic leg actuated with amplifying mechanisms is developed in this letter to mimic the motion of legs natural organisms on small scale. The device has a planar structure and fabricated bulk micromachining. Two electrothermal actuators are used drive back forth workspace. actuator transmitted elastically using flexible arms. mechanism symmetrical similar standard parallel manipulators b...