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High aspect ratio integrated force arrays

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bobbio, SM; Smith, SW; Zara, JM; Goodwin-Johansson, S; Gentry, KL; Hudak, J; Kerns, M; Elliott, PC; Rouse, BJ; Borno, RT
Published in: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
August 16, 2001

The Integrated Force Array (IFA) is a metallized polyimide actuator made up of a large array of capacitive cells that deform when voltage is applied. The deformations of the individual cells add to produce an overall muscle-like compression of the array. In previously reported work deformations of up to 30% have been realized and the IFAs have been used as mechanical scanners in ultrasound imaging systems. The gaps of the capacitive cells are etched directly into the polyimide and oriented perpendicular to the plane of the array. Metal is deposited on the sidewalls of the etched features in order to form the plates of each capacitor. The force associated with the IFA motion is directly proportional to the height of the sidewall metal and thus to the thickness of the membrane. Until now, the thickness has been 2μm with gap widths of 1μm. In recent work, much higher aspect ratio IFAs (thicker but with the same gap width) have been fabricated in order to produce devices that operate with greater force and are much more robust devices. © 2001 SPIE.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

DOI

ISSN

0277-786X

Publication Date

August 16, 2001

Volume

4334

Issue

1

Start / End Page

298 / 308

Related Subject Headings

  • 5102 Atomic, molecular and optical physics
  • 4009 Electronics, sensors and digital hardware
  • 4006 Communications engineering
 

Citation

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Bobbio, S. M., Smith, S. W., Zara, J. M., Goodwin-Johansson, S., Gentry, K. L., Hudak, J., … Borno, R. T. (2001). High aspect ratio integrated force arrays. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 4334(1), 298–308. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.436614
Bobbio, S. M., S. W. Smith, J. M. Zara, S. Goodwin-Johansson, K. L. Gentry, J. Hudak, M. Kerns, P. C. Elliott, B. J. Rouse, and R. T. Borno. “High aspect ratio integrated force arrays.” Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering 4334, no. 1 (August 16, 2001): 298–308. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.436614.
Bobbio SM, Smith SW, Zara JM, Goodwin-Johansson S, Gentry KL, Hudak J, et al. High aspect ratio integrated force arrays. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 2001 Aug 16;4334(1):298–308.
Bobbio, S. M., et al. “High aspect ratio integrated force arrays.” Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, vol. 4334, no. 1, Aug. 2001, pp. 298–308. Scopus, doi:10.1117/12.436614.
Bobbio SM, Smith SW, Zara JM, Goodwin-Johansson S, Gentry KL, Hudak J, Kerns M, Elliott PC, Rouse BJ, Borno RT. High aspect ratio integrated force arrays. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 2001 Aug 16;4334(1):298–308.

Published In

Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

DOI

ISSN

0277-786X

Publication Date

August 16, 2001

Volume

4334

Issue

1

Start / End Page

298 / 308

Related Subject Headings

  • 5102 Atomic, molecular and optical physics
  • 4009 Electronics, sensors and digital hardware
  • 4006 Communications engineering