TY - GEN A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Schenk, Harald A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Gaudet, Matthieu A1 - Schimmanz, Klaus A1 - Stolz, Michael A1 - Lenz, Miriam T1 - A small-gap electrostatic micro-actuator for large deflections T2 - Nature Communications Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10078 SN - 2041-1723 IS - 6 SP - 10078 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Grashoff, Thomas A1 - Drabe, Christian A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Schenk, Harald T1 - About stress in filled DRIE-trenches T2 - Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (JMM) Y1 - 2015 UR - http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0960-1317/25/8/085003 SN - 0960-1317 VL - 25 IS - 8 SP - 8085003 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kolkovsky, Vladimir A1 - Stübner, R. A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Wende, U. A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Schenk, Harald T1 - Influence of annealing in H atmosphere on the electrical properties of Al₃O₃ layers grown on p-type Si by the atomic layer deposition technique T2 - Solid-State Electronics Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sse.2016.06.005 SN - 0038-1101 VL - 123 SP - 89 EP - 95 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Gaudet, Matthieu A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Stolz, Michael A1 - Uhlig, Sebastian A1 - Schimmanz, Klaus A1 - Schenk, Harald T1 - A novel electrostatic actuator class T2 - Procedia Engineering Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.11.454 SN - 1877-7058 VL - 168 SP - 1533 EP - 1536 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Stolz, Michael A1 - Gaudet, Matthieu A1 - Uhlig, Sebastian A1 - Schimmanz, Klaus A1 - Schenk, Harald T1 - Technological aspects of a new micro-electro-mechanical actuation principle: nano e-drive T2 - Microsystem Technologies Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-017-3360-6 SN - 1432-1858 VL - 23 IS - 1 SP - 5697 EP - 5708 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Uhlig, Sebastian A1 - Gaudet, Matthieu A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Schimmanz, Klaus A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Schenk, Harald T1 - Electrostatically driven in-plane silicon micropump for modular configuration T2 - Micromachines N2 - In this paper, an in-plane reciprocating displacement micropump for liquids and gases which is actuated by a new class of electrostatic bending actuators is reported. The so-called “Nano Electrostatic Drive” is capable of deflecting beyond the electrode gap distance, enabling large generated forces and deflections. Depending on the requirements of the targeted system, the micropump can be modularly designed to meet the specified differential pressures and flow rates by a serial and parallel arrangement of equally working pumping base units. Two selected, medium specific micropump test structure devices for pumping air and isopropanol were designed and investigated. An analytical approach of the driving unit is presented and two-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations of the micropump were carried out to determine the dynamic behavior. The simulation showed that the test structure device designed for air expected to overcome a total differential pressure of 130 kPa and deliver a flow rate of 0.11 sccm at a 265 Hz driving frequency. The isopropanol design is expected to generate 210 kPa and pump 0.01 sccm at 21 Hz. The device is monolithically fabricated by CMOS-compatible bulk micromachining processes under the use of standard materials only, such as crystalline silicon, silicon dioxide and alumina. KW - micropump; electrostatic actuation; nano e-drive; in-plane reciprocating displacement micropump; MEMS Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/mi9040190 SN - 2072-666X VL - 9 IS - 4 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Ehrig, Lutz A1 - Stolz, Michael A1 - Schenk, Hermann A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Schenk, Harald A1 - Schimmanz, Klaus A1 - Schuffenhauer, David T1 - Concept and proof for an all-silicon MEMS micro speaker utilizing air chambers T2 - Microsystems and Nanoengineering N2 - MEMS-based micro speakers are attractive candidates as sound transducers for smart devices, particularly wearables and hearables. For such devices, high sound pressure levels, low harmonic distortion and low power consumption are required for industrial, consumer and medical applications. The ability to integrate with microelectronic circuitry, as well as scalable batch production to enable low unit costs, are the key factors benchmarking a technology. The Nanoscopic Electrostatic Drive based, novel micro speaker concept presented in this work essentially comprises in-plane, electrostatic bending actuators, and uses the chip volume rather than the its surface for sound generation. We describe the principle, design, fabrication, and first characterization results. Various design options and governing equations are given and discussed. In a standard acoustical test setup (ear simulator), a MEMS micro speaker generated a sound pressure level of 69 dB at 500 Hz with a total harmonic distortion of 4.4%, thus proving the concept. Further potential on sound pressure as well as linearity improvement is outlined. We expect that the described methods can be used to enhance and design other MEMS devices and foster modeling and simulation approaches. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-019-0095-9 SN - 2055-7434 IS - 5 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kaiser, Bert A1 - Schenk, Hermann A. G. A1 - Ehrig, Lutz A1 - Wall, Franziska A1 - Monsalve Guaracao, Jorge Mario A1 - Langa, Sergiu A1 - Stolz, Michael A1 - Melnikov, Anton A1 - Conrad, Holger A1 - Schuffenhauer, David A1 - Schenk, Harald T1 - The push-pull principle: an electrostatic actuator concept for low distortion acoustic transducers T2 - Microsystems & Nanoengineering N2 - Electrostatic actuators are of particular interest for microsystems (MEMS), and in particular for MEMS audio transducers for use in advanced true wireless applications. They are attractive because of their typically low electrical capacitance and because they can be fabricated from materials that are compatible with standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. For high audio performance and in particular low harmonic distortion (THD) the implementation of the push-pull principle provides strong benefits. With an arrangement of three electrodes in a conjunct moving configuration on a beam, we demonstrate here for the first time a balanced bending actuator incarnating the push-pull principle operating at low voltages. Our first design already exhibits a harmonic distortion as low as 1.2% at 79 dB using a signal voltage of only 6 Vp and a constant voltage of only ±10 Vdc in a standard acoustic measurement setup. Thus, exceeding our previously reported approach in all three key performance indications at the same time. We expect that our novel electrode configurations will stimulate innovative electrostatic actuator developments for a broad range of applications. In this paper we report the basic theory, the fabrication and the performance of our novel actuator design acting as an audio transducer. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-022-00458-z SN - 2055-7434 VL - Vol. 8 ER -