Photostriction actuation of silicon-germanium bilayer cantilevers

Abstract

This work presents a study of photostriction-based optical actuation in bilayer cantilevers made of silicon and germanium thin-films and follows previous work in this area on silicon cantilevers. This experimental and theoretical study examines the role of the silicon-germanium heterojunction in optical actuation. It is shown that the germanium layer dominates the mechanical response of the device, which can be exploited to achieve enhanced optical actuation in cantilevers.