Electrothermal motors have been designed that use arrays of V-beam thermal actuators to move a slider through frictional contact. These motors can be operated in a quasi-static mode, eliminating the need for resonant operation required in dynamic impact actuation [48]. Figure 36 shows an example of a bi-directional motor in which yokes are positioned on both sides of the slider to move it to the left or right. Motor testing is necessary to determine optimum yoke angle and length.
Figure 36. Micrograph of fabricated electrothermal motor showing symmetric bi-directional actuator arrays and yokes.
Integration will be achieved by fabricating motors in the 3DMEMS sld layer. Figure 37 shows a conceptual view of a complete 3DMEMS device that uses electrothermal motors to position a spatial micromanipulator.
