Plastic deformation of microstructures using carbon nanotubes film as latching surface

We have demonstrated a novel method utilizing carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays as latching surface for silicon plastic deformation applications where the high temperature process is required. The CNT arrays integrated on microstructures maintain the strained shapes of the microstructures in the high temperature environments. In order to demonstrate the proposed method, arrays of angular vertical comb-drive (AVC) actuators were successfully fabricated by the silicon plastic deformation process while the CNTs anchored the strained microstructures. After the process, the CNTs were fully removable by thermal oxidation. The proposed method could be applied to diverse microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for microscale assembly and harsh environment processing.