Development of Planar Microcoils for an Electromagnetic Linear Actuator Fabricated in Batch-Type Wafer Technology

This paper presents the characterization of planar microfabricated coils designed for an electromagnetic system which is realized in batch-type wafer technology. The challenge is to fabricate good coils in the simplest and economic way. The process flow used for their fabrication in the clean room as well as the manufacture results are discussed. After the magnetic simulations and the electric characterization, the thermal behaviour of the microfabricated coils is observed to determine the maximal allowed current density and the corresponding heating. These are the main characteristics to know for the sizing of an electromagnetic system.