Characterization and micro-assembly of electrostatic actuators for 3-DOF micromanipulators in laser phonomicrosurgery

This paper presents a design of electrostatic actuators for 3-DOF micromanipulators in robot-assisted laser phonomicrosurgery. By integrating three sets of electrostatic actuators in a vertical configuration, scanning micro-mirror can be used as a manipulator for laser source. Key enable technology for these miniaturized actuators is microfabrication processes for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) because the processes can create submicron features with high precision, mass productive, and low cost. Based on precise micromachined electrostatic actuators, the platform is assembled using micro assembly approach. With sizes less than 5 mm × 5 mm × 5 mm, the proposed design has three degree-of-freedom: two rotational motions around the in-plane axis and one out-of-plane translational motion. Static and dynamic analysis of the device is simulated by Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and compared to theoretical calculations. This system preserves outstanding characteristics of electrostatic actuators for fast response and low power consumption. By micro-assembly of the scanning micro-mirror, the endoscopic systems can be created with a high range of motion and high scanning speed. The target applications of this system include laryngeal microsurgery, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and minimally invasive surgeries (MIS).