Thermal buckling actuator for micro relays

An actuator for micromachined relays has been investigated. The actuator is fabricated by the sealed-cavity process, a micromachining technology. It has a thin Si clamped-clamped beam which is deformed by buckling due to thermal SiO/sub 2/ built-in stress and thermal stress. The actuator size is 2.5 mm(L)/spl times/0.5 mm(W)/spl times/0.02 mm(T). 25-micron deflection at the center point and 2.0 gf force were obtained with 27 V/25 mA input power.