
Proceedings Paper
Highly sensitive thermal actuators for temperature sensingFormat | Member Price | Non-Member Price |
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Paper Abstract
A thermal actuator based on two symmetrical V-shaped beam stacks (also called chevron-type) is presented.
Each beam stack consists of 6 beams in parallel. The stacks are coupled facing each other and are slightly
shifted along the mirror axis. Both stacks are connected to a lever beam. Due to the thermal expansion of the
material, the tip of the lever moves up and downwards perpendicular to the mirror axis. The device is built up
of galvanic deposited nickel. Finite element simulations were carried out for design considerations prior to the
manufacturing of the device. The simulations were used to optimize the design regarding to the sensitivity and
the maximum mechanical stress to be expected. The stress level needs to be lower than the yield strength of the
material, to prevent plastic deformation and, therefore, irreversible tip defections. This also limits the overall
sensitivity of the design. First results of the device with 400 µm long bent beams show a linear behavior and a
sensitivity of 0.5 μm/K and expectable forces of 66 μN/K in a temperature range of -30°C up to +40°C.
Paper Details
Date Published: 17 May 2013
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8763, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VI, 87630T (17 May 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2016828
Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8763:
Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VI
Ulrich Schmid; José Luis Sánchez de Rojas Aldavero; Monika Leester-Schaedel, Editor(s)
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 8763, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VI, 87630T (17 May 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2016828
Show Author Affiliations
H. Steiner, Vienna Univ. of Technology (Austria)
W. Hortschitz, Institute for Integrated Sensor Systems (Austria)
M. Stifter, Vienna Univ. of Technology (Austria)
Institute for Integrated Sensor Systems (Austria)
W. Hortschitz, Institute for Integrated Sensor Systems (Austria)
M. Stifter, Vienna Univ. of Technology (Austria)
Institute for Integrated Sensor Systems (Austria)
F. Keplinger, Vienna Univ. of Technology (Austria)
T. Sauter, Institute for Integrated Sensor Systems (Austria)
T. Sauter, Institute for Integrated Sensor Systems (Austria)
Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8763:
Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS VI
Ulrich Schmid; José Luis Sánchez de Rojas Aldavero; Monika Leester-Schaedel, Editor(s)
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