Design of hybrid-type MEMS microgripper

As the endeffectors of micromanipulation systems, microgrippers are crucial point of such systems for their efficiency and their reliability. So the steady and reliable performance of the microgripper is needed. In this work, a hybrid-type electrostatic silicon microgripper integrated vacuum tool is designed and fabricated to realize the steady gripping and reliable placing manipulations. This hybrid-type microgripper keeps the traditional functions of electrostatic comb drive microgripper and also combines the advantages of the vacuum tool. Vacuum tool integrated in this novel microgripper is used to improve its pick and place capability. Bulk micromachining technology is employed to fabricate the microgripper from single crystal silicon wafer. The vacuum control subsystem and electrostatic comb drive control subsystem are also designed for the microgripper controlling. At a driving voltage of 80V, a deflection of 25¿m at the arm tip of the gripper is achieved. The objects ranging from 100¿m to 200¿m are picked and placed successfully in the experiment, and the experiment results indicate that this microgripper can realize the steady manipulation.