Study of Electrostatic Actuator Voltage Reduction with a Tri-Electrode Actuator with Varying Pull-Down Voltage

Abstract

Employing a tri-electrode topology for electrostatic actuators can significantly reduce needed control voltages. The tri-electrode topology employs a perforated intermediate electrode between the MEMS structure and pull-down electrode, and provides a low voltage control for the MEMS structure. Simulations of a spring supported MEMS in a conventional electrostatic actuator offering ~4.5 µm displacement with 20 V on the pull-down electrode, were compared to the tri-electrode actuator. This study showed that the intermediate electrode can act to provide similar controlled displacement with only 1/3 and 1/4 the voltage for the cases with the pull-down electrode held fixed at 20 V and 40 V respectively. A fabricated prototype experimentally showed that the intermediate electrode can provide similar displacement control with only 1/6 the normal control voltage of an electrostatic actuator.