Design and analysis of electrostatic micro tweezers with optimized hinges for biological applications using Coventor Ware

Abstract

Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) is becoming increasingly very popular as it finds its application in various fields. It is miniaturized mechanical and electro-mechanical elements that are made using the techniques of micro fabrication. This paper describes the design and FEM analysis of micro tweezers. Micro-tweezers has wide applications in micro-fluidics technology, microsurgery and tissue-engineering. In this work, an attempt has been made to design and develop an electrostatic based tweezers or graspers with comb drives and polyamide hinges. In this design, a micro tweezers with two arms for lateral displacement is proposed for handling nano and micro particles. Using the MEMS CAD tool Coventor Ware, the structure has been designed, simulated and analyzed. With applied voltage ranging from 0 V to 100 V, corresponding displacements of the arms and stress at hinges have been measured and analyzed for both polyamide and silicon hinges. Comparison is made between polyamide and silicon as hinges, and from the analysis it is clear that microtweezers with polyamide hinges produce more displacement. The process flow for the fabrication has also been proposed for the above structure. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.