Design and fabrication of multi-degrees-of-freedom single crystal silicon moveable platforms on SOI wafer

This study has developed various out-of-plane springs and actuators on an SOI wafer using the DAWN process. Further, the integration of these out-of-plane components with the existing in-plane components is also demonstrated. Thus, various multi-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) movable platforms made of single-crystal-silicon (SCS) are implemented on an SOI wafer. In short, the platforms are moveable in in-plane/out-of-plane directions; and linear/angular motions can be achieved. The movable platforms can be driven by several different mechanisms, such as electrothermal or electrostatic actuators. In applications, four movable platforms with 2∼3 DOF on an SOI wafer are demonstrated.