Micromachines (Mar 2023)

An Aluminum Electro-Thermally Actuated Micro-Tweezer: Manufacturing and Characterization

  • Rodica-Cristina Voicu,
  • Catalin Tibeica

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14040797
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 4
p. 797

Abstract

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In this paper, we present the investigations of an aluminum micro-tweezer designed for micromanipulation applications. It includes design, simulation, fabrication, characterizations, and experimental measurements. Electro-thermo-mechanical FEM-based simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics were performed to describe the behavior of the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device. The micro-tweezers were fabricated in aluminum, as structural material, by surface micromachining processes. Experimental measurements were performed and compared with the simulation results. A micromanipulation experiment was performed using titanium microbeads from 10–30 µm to confirm the performance of the micro-tweezer. This study serves as further research regarding the using of aluminum as structural material for MEMS devices designated for pick-and-place operations.

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