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  4. Paraffin-PDMS composite thermo microactuator with large vertical displacement capability
 
conference paper

Paraffin-PDMS composite thermo microactuator with large vertical displacement capability

Dubois, P.  
•
Vela, E.
•
Koster, S.
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2006
Actuator, Bremen

We have micromachined and tested the first paraffin PDMS composite thermal microactuator having multi shot large vertical displacement capabilities ( 160 um for 1 mm diameter device). A solid to liquid phase change of trapped paraffin into the PDMS is used to create a large volume dilatation of the composite (18%, for a temperature varied from 20 to 80 °C). The elasticity of the PDMS ensures the reversibility of the actuation. The paraffin-PDMS composite also facilitates fabrication and confines the melted paraffin when the device is actuated. This actuator has large force capabilities illustrated in our demonstrator by lifting a heavy mass for microsystems (60 mg). The actuator consists of a glass cavity filled with a paraffin-PDMS composite, a micro hotplate at the bottom of the cavity, and a nozzle-like silicon structure sealing the top of the cavity. The polyimide-aluminium micro-hotplate bonded to the bottom of the cavity heats (160 mW @ 2 V) the composite to obtain up to 160 um out of plane vertical displacement. Keywords: thermal actuator, paraffin, PDMS, composite, micro-hotplate, reversible, phase change

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Type
conference paper
Author(s)
Dubois, P.  
Vela, E.
Koster, S.
Briand, D.  
Shea, H. R.  
de Rooij, N. F.  
Date Issued

2006

Published in
Actuator, Bremen
Start page

215

End page

218

Editorial or Peer reviewed

NON-REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

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Available on Infoscience
November 13, 2007
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/14601
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