Performance of GaAs micromachined microactuator

The paper presents performance and modeling of the first thermally excited GaAs cantilever-based microactuator fully compatible with GaAs-based monoli thic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). The introduced microactuator sh ows a high electro-mechanical conversion efficiency (Gamma(E) = 0.802 mu m mW(-1)) and a fast time response (tau similar to 1.4 ms), which corresponds closely to value predicted from the thermal simulation. The typical measur ed resonant frequency of the microactuator is 15.4 kHz. The simulated and m easured microactuator conversion characteristics are compared, indicating v iability of the modeling method used for further micromechanical analyses. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.