Out-of-plane micro-force function generator with inherent self-feedback for micro-deformation modifying

Many micro-electro-mechanical structures are always subject to residual stress and can easily cause mechanical deformation. The warpage of device substrate could directly affect the performance and should be effectively controlled. This paper mainly reports a novel concept of out-of-plane micro-force function generator for micro-deformation modifying. The proposed generator is based on batch fabricated polymer thermal actuators array and could actively modify micro-substrate warpage. Experimental results showed that the out-of-plane micro-force function generator was able to achieve accurate rectifying of substrate micro-deformation. This strategy constructively utilizes the inherent self-feedback for in-situ deformation control and has the potential for solving stress-induced problems of micro-fabricated devices.