Charge Pumped MEMS Actuation for High Force and Large Displacement

Abstract

Charge-pumping represents an unusual approach to MEMS actuation with the potential benefits of large displacement coupled with high force, as well as simple out-of-plane motions, large-scale self-assembly, simple single contact and even the possibility of non-contact actuation. Charge pumping is conducive to energy scavenging techniques such as tribolectric harvesting, useful in aerospace and satellite applications, but it comes at the cost of modifications to the electronics control infrastructure now based on two-terminal (power/ground) voltage and current paradigms. Non-contact examples will be shown, including devices that can be used for microscale biomimetic optics.

Keywords

• MEMS
• Actuator
• Out-of-plane
• Charge-pump
• Biomimetic accommodating lens
• Energy harvesting.