Static Modeling and Pull-in Analysis of an Electrostatic Actuator

Abstract

This paper investigated the static performance of a rectangular micromirror supported by a straight beam and actuated by either one of the two bottom electrodes. The uniform straight beam is attached to the microplate and anchored to the substrate. Theoretical analysis of the static performance and pull-in phenomenon of the actuator is performed first and further continued by the comparison of analytical results and simulations. The actuator, fabricated using MicraGEM process, can be applied to fine tune the steering angle of a light beam reflected by the microplate through careful selection of geometry parameters of the actuator before fabrication and voltage control algorithm after prototyping