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Micro robot system with moving micro-car driven by electrostatic comb-drive

actuators

Article in Microsystem Technologies · April 2010

DOI: 10.1007/s00542-010-1017-9

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Microsyst Technol (2010) 16:505–510
DOI 10.1007/s00542-010-1017-9
REVIEW PAPER
Micro robot system with moving micro-car driven
by electrostatic comb-drive actuators
Phuc Hong Pham • Lam Bao Dang •
Hung Ngoc Vu
Received: 27 October 2009 / Accepted: 4 January 2010 / Published online: 13 January 2010
Ó Springer-Verlag 2010
Abstract This paper describes a silicon micro robot sys-
tem (MRS) that is capable of driving micro-cars in different
directions based on a ratchet mechanism and electrostatic
comb-drive actuators. Lateral movement of the ratchet
racks makes the micro-car move in the perpendicular
direction with different velocities. Based on MEMS tech-
nology, the MRS described in this article was fabricated
from a silicon on insulator wafer by using only one photo
mask. In our experiments, various driving frequencies
ranging from 1 to 20 Hz were used to accelerate the micro-
car up to 200 lm/s. It was observed that the velocity of the
micro-car was proportional to the driving frequency used in
the experiments. This relation was also confirmed with our
theoretical calculation. When combined with microscopes,
this MRS can be applied in bio-medical analysis for trans-
portation and classification of small samples.
1 Introduction
Micro conveyance and micro robot systems (MRS) are
important in micro-system assemblies (Brussel et al. 2000),
bioengineering (Tarhan et al. 2007), robotics and automa-
tion, etc. In the MEMS field, there have been many micro
conveyance systems reported, such as, a 2D conveyance
P. H. Pham (&)
L. B. Dang
School of Mechanical Engineering,
Hanoi University of Technology,
1st Dai Co Viet St., Hanoi, Vietnam
e-mail: phucph-fme@mail.hut.edu.vn
H. N. Vu
International Training Institute for Materials Science,
Hanoi University of Technology, 1st Dai Co Viet St.,
Hanoi, Vietnam
system based on ciliary motion, in which objects were
elevated and moved by ciliary type thermal actuators array
(Ebefors et al. 2000), a XY-plane conveyance system
based on surface acoustic wave in piezoelectric substrate
(Shigematsu and Kurosawa 2004), an inchworm motors
with bidirectional XY electrostatic actuators (Yeh et al.
2002), or a parallel micro conveyer system using electro-
static comb-drive actuators (Pham et al. 2006).
In this article, we report a novel MRS that utilizes
electrostatic force and linear ratchet mechanism to move
micro-cars. The micro-car resembling a water strider can
move and carry small objects from one place to another. It
can be used in micro total analysis systems (l-TAS) for
carrying and/or classifying micro/nano samples (carbon
nano tube, protein, blood cells, etc.) or in automatic
assembling systems.
By using the Finite Element Method (FEM), the dis-
placement-driving voltage relation of electrostatic comb-
drive actuator was confirmed, and the optimal dimensions of
the structures were obtained. Interactive forces between the
micro-car and the driving ratchet mechanism were analyzed
to guarantee that the micro-car can move forwards.
The proposed MRS using electrostatic comb-drive
actuators can be easily configured and controlled. Fur-
thermore, it has small size and can be fabricated in batch.
2 Configuration and working principle
Figure 1 shows a scanning electron microscope (SEM)
image of the MRS that consists of straight and turning
modules. Micro-cars can move straight in the straight
module and turn left or right in the turning module. All
modules have the same dimension of 6 9 6 mm2 and can
be assembled to create more complex systems.
123
506
Fig. 1 SEM image of an MRS consisting of basic modules (the ant is
standing at the center for the scaling purpose)
Figure 2 illustrates how a linear electrostatic comb-drive
actuator and a ratchet rack are connected. The ratchet rack,
in a suitable saw–teeth shape, receives reciprocating
motions in the x-direction from the linear comb actuators.
It then transmits the received motions to the driving wings
of the micro-car (Fig. 3). The pitch and height of a ratchet
tooth are p = 10 lm and b = 6 lm, respectively.
The dimensions of the comb actuator used in this work
are as follows: the comb finger thickness h = 30 lm; the
gap between two fingers g = 2 lm; the finger width
w = 3 lm; the finger overlap ovl = 5 lm; the finger
length lc = 40 lm; the beam length L = 700 lm; the
beam width bw = 4.5 lm and the total movable comb
fingers n = 134.
The micro-car is the moving object in this case. It
consists of four driving wings and four anti-reverse hairs
attached to both sides of the backbone as shown in Fig. 3.
The length, width and thickness of the micro-car are 450,
250 and 30 lm, respectively. Each wing is connected to the
Fig. 2 Schematic view of a linear comb-drive actuator with a ratchet
rack attached to the movable part
123
Microsyst Technol (2010) 16:505–510
Fig. 3 Configuration of the micro-car
backbone by an elastic structure at the end point of the
wing so that the wing can bend around this point easily
(Fig. 3). The anti-reverse hairs of the micro-car act as the
ratchet teeth, allowing the micro-car to move forward. Note
that the slope angle a of the wing is larger than that of the
anti-reverse hair.
Figure 4a shows the working principle of the straight
module. When applying a periodic voltage (V12) between
the fixed electrodes (pad `) and the movable comb fingers
(pad
; note that pad
is connected to the movable comb
fingers through the beams), the movable fingers will
move forward and backward in the lateral direction (i.e.,
x-direction) under the electrostatic and elastic forces of the
beams. The left and right ratchet racks are connected to the
movable comb of actuators, so that they can move together
(see more in Fig. 2). The driving voltage is applied to the
left and right comb actuator in a way that the motions of
the left and right ratchet racks are in opposite directions.
While the right ratchet rack moves to the left, the left
ratchet moves to the right at the same time and with the
same displacement. The wings of micro-car will rotate
inward around the elastic points because of the electrostatic
force. As a result, the micro-car is moved in the y-direction.
Consequently, the anti-reverse hairs also move in the
y-direction. The free ends of anti-reverse hairs slide on the
teeth of the ratchet rack in the forward direction only. Solid
arrows in Fig. 4a indicate the movement directions of the
ratchet racks and the micro-car. Next, when the driving
voltage is reduced to zero, the two ratchet racks move
outward and return to the initial positions due to the beam’s
elastic force. The micro-car will not move back due to the
four anti-reverse hairs of the micro-car engaged in the
ratchet racks. In order to guarantee that the micro-car can
Microsyst Technol (2010) 16:505–510
Fig. 4 Configurations of the straight module (a) and the turning
module (b)
move forward, after each cycle, the micro-car or, the anti-
reverse hair should move at least one pitch of the ratchet
teeth. Here, one pitch of the ratchet teeth is p = 10 lm.
Similar working principle can be explained for the case of
the turning module (see Fig. 4b).
3 Calculation of the displacement and velocity
The displacement of the micro-car can be calculated as
shown in Fig. 5. In this figure, Dx represents the movement
of the ratchet teeth (or the free end of the wing) in the
507
Fig. 5 Diagram for calculating the displacement of the micro-car in
each cycle
x-direction, Dy represents the movement of the elastic point
(or the micro-car) in the y-direction, Lw = 150 lm is the
length of the wing and the slope angle a = 45°. We have:
x1 ¼ Lw sin a ð1Þ
y1 ¼ Lw cos a ð2Þ
x2 ¼ x1  Dx ð3Þ
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
y2 ¼ L2w  x22 ð4Þ
Dy ¼ y2  y1
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
¼ L2w  ðLw sin a  DxÞ2  Lw cos a ð5Þ
Equation 5 shows the relation between the displacement
of the micro-car Dy and the displacement of the ratchet
teeth Dx. As mentioned above, the displacement of the
micro-car Dy must be larger than the pitch of a ratchet
tooth p = 10 lm and thus, from Eq. 5, we need:
Dx C 10.9 lm. If the height of a ratchet tooth b = 6 lm is
included, the necessary displacement Dx must always be
larger than 16.9 lm.
Let us calculate the velocity of the micro-car. In the first
half of a cycle, the ratchet actuator moves inward, and the
micro-car is pushed forward with the displacement Dy
expressed in Eq. 5. In the second half of the cycle, the
ratchet actuators return to the original place. The elastic
force of the wing and anti-reverse hairs will pull the micro-
car backward. Since the anti-reverse hair acts as a ratchet,
the micro-car will move backward until Dy = i.p, (i is an
integer number), i.e., when the free end of an anti-reverse
hair is stopped by the teeth of the ratchet rack.
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508 Microsyst Technol (2010) 16:505–510

Thus, the velocity of the micro-car in the straight y-direction to balance the total hindering force acting on the
module can be calculated as follows: micro-car. Since the ratchet racks do not move in the y-
  direction, the force Fd becomes the driving force that pushes
Dy
v1 ¼ int
p
f ð6Þ the micro-car forward.
p
These forces can be expressed by equations from 8 to 14
where function int(x) returns the integer portion of x; f is below:
the driving frequency value of the applying voltage V. nhee0 2
The velocity of the micro-car in turning and straight Fe ¼ :V ð8Þ
g
paths varies with the driving frequency. More exactly, the
instantaneous velocity of the micro-car at the entrance and 4EhðbwÞ3
Fb ¼ kx :Dx ¼ :Dx ð9Þ
exit of a turning path is larger than the middle. This can be L3
explained as follows. At the entrance and exit position of a Fw ¼ kw :ðDx  bÞ ð10Þ
turning path, the acute angle c between the moving direc-
3EI
tion of the micro-car and the ratchet actuator is 45° Fa ¼ :Dx ð11Þ
(Fig. 4b). Not only does the wing of the micro-car rotate l3
inward around the elastic point, it will also be pushed Fra ¼ fm :Fa : cos b ð12Þ
forward by the curved ratchet rack. Therefore, the dis- Fr ¼ fm mG ð13Þ
placement of the micro-car in each cycle will be larger than
the middle (and in the straight path), where the angle c Fr
Fd ¼ þ 2Fra : cos b ð14Þ
between the moving direction of the micro-car and the 2
ratchet actuator is 90°. where b = 30° is the slope angle of a ratchet tooth, n = 134
In the turning path, the velocity of the micro-car is is the total number of movable comb fingers, h = 30 lm is
described as a function of the angle c. In other words, it the thickness of a comb finger, g = 2 lm is the gap between
depends on the position of the micro-car and can be two fingers, e and e0 are permittivities of air and vacuum,
expressed as: respectively. V is the driving voltage, b = 6 lm is the height
  of a ratchet tooth, E = 169 GPa is the Young’s modulus
Dy þ Dx: cos c
v2 ¼ int
p
f ð7Þ of a single crystalline silicon. I is the inertia moment of the
p
anti-reverse cross-section, l = 150 lm is the length of an
where the angle c changes from 45° to 90°, Dx is the dis- anti-reverse hair, bw = 4.5 lm and L = 700 lm are the
placement of the ratchet actuator and Dy is the displace- width and length of a beam of an actuator, respectively. kx
ment of the micro-car due to rotation of wing. and Dx are the stiffness and deflection of the actuator system
Note that, if c = 90° (i.e., in the middle of the turning in the x-direction, respectively. kx is calculated to be 6.06
path), Eq. 7 will become Eq. 6 and the velocity of the lN/lm, kw = 1.49 lN/lm is the stiffness of one wing in the
micro-car in both cases will be the same. x-direction, fm = 0.38 is the frictional coefficient between
the silicon–silicon contact surfaces, m is the mass of the
micro-car and G is the gravitational acceleration.
4 Force analysis

In the first half of a cycle, both ratchet racks are moving

inward. The interactive forces between the ratchet-actuators
and the micro-car are illustrated in Fig. 6. Because the forces
acting on the micro-car are symmetrical through y axis, the
micro-car, or the backbone will not move in the x-direction.
Therefore we just consider the right side of the micro-car. In
this Fig. 6, Fe is the total electrostatic force and Fb is the total
elastic force of the beams of the actuator. The net driving
force acting on the micro-car is (Fe - Fb) and the load on
the free end of the wings. Fw is the elastic force of wing in the
x-direction. Fa is the elastic force of the anti-reverse hairs
and Fra is the frictional force between the anti-reverse hair
and the surface of a ratchet tooth. Fr is the frictional force
between the micro-car and the substrate. Fd is the reactive
force from a ratchet tooth acting on the wing in the Fig. 6 The interactive forces between ratchet teeth and micro-car

123
Microsyst Technol (2010) 16:505–510 509

As discussed in Sect. 3, in order to guarantee that the the actuator structure is dried at 120°C for 10 min to fur-
micro-car can move forward, we need: ther reduce the sticking possibility.
Dx  Dxc ¼ 16:9 lm ð15Þ The SEM image of a silicon MRS with the micro-car
after fabrication is shown in Fig. 7.
By considering the equilibrium equation of forces acting
on the wings and anti-reverse hairs, we can obtain the
relation between the driving voltage V and the 5.2 Test of MRS
displacement Dx as below:
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 3ffi
u The movement of the micro-car in the MRS has been
u
u g 6 Fd ðLw sin a  DxÞ 7 functionally tested by applying a sine wave driving voltage
V¼u tnhee :4qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi2 þ Fb þ 2Fw 5 with Vpp of 100 V. The diagram of the electrical connec-
0
L2w  ðLw sin a  DxÞ tions is illustrated in Fig. 4a. The micro-car moved
ð16Þ smoothly in all modules of the MRS. In Fig. 8, two

Therefore, from Conditions 15 and 16, the driving

voltage V must be larger than 91.96 (Volt).

5 Fabrication and test

5.1 Fabrication process

The fabrication process of the MRS described in this article

is standard and simple. The MRS has been fabricated by
using a SOI wafer with the thicknesses of the device layer,
buried SiO2 layer, and silicon substrate were 30, 4 and
500 lm, respectively. Firstly, the MRS patterns were
transferred to the surface of the SOI wafer using photoli-
thography. Next, a Deep Reactive Ion Etching (D-RIE)
process was performed to a depth of 30 lm to reach the
buried oxide layer. Then, the silicon wafer is diced to
separate each MRS. The photo-resist layer on the device
surface is removed by a remover solution, and then a vapor
HF etching process is applied to etch the SiO2 underneath
the device layer and thus the movable structures are
released. The etching rate of SiO2 by vapor HF with con-
centration of 46% at 40°C is 0.2 lm/min. After HF etching,

Fig. 8 Video-captured photographs show the micro-car are moving

Fig. 7 The SEM image of a fabricated MRS and its components in the straight module (a) and turning module (b)

123
510
Fig. 9 The relation between the velocity of the micro-car and the
driving frequency in the straight module, (Vpp = 100 V)
video-captured photographs illustrate the movement of the
micro-car in the straight and turning paths.
The velocity of the micro-car was measured with dif-
ferent driving frequencies ranging from 1 to 20 Hz. In our
experiment, the velocity can be calculated by Eq. 6 as
v = pf = 10f (lm/s). The measured velocity of the micro-
car in the straight module was proportional to the driving
frequency. This matches very well with the theoretical
values as shown in Fig. 9.
The velocity of the micro-car in the turning path is not
steady as explained at the end of Sect. 3.
6 Conclusions
This paper has presented the design, fabrication and evalu-
ation of a novel silicon MRS based on electrostatic comb-
drive actuators and linear ratchet mechanism. The micro-car
can be driven by pushing the driving wings perpendicularly
with micro-car’s movement direction. The anti-reverse hair
123
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Microsyst Technol (2010) 16:505–510
structure in combination with the ratchet teeth allows the
forwarding movement of the micro-cars.
The silicon MRS and its components have been fabri-
cated by MEMS technology with only one photo mask. The
MRS was experimentally checked in order to confirm the
working principles and to measure its characteristics. The
movement of the micro-car in all modules has been tested
and evaluated successfully.
This MRS can be improved and used in more complex
applications such as micro assembling systems, micro total
analysis systems for transportation, classification or sorting
of micro/nano objects by flexible movement of micro-cars.
Acknowledgments This work is supported by the National Foun-
dation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) of
Vietnam (Code: 107.01.26.09).
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