Photothermal operation of the micro-mechanical resonators

The operation of small mechanical resonator by laser irradiation is reported. The bending moment caused by the photothermal effect is advantageously used for the driving force of the vibration. The bending moment was calculated theoretically for the layered plate-like structures. The authors fabricated the micro-cantilever as a mechanical resonator by lithographic process. The characteristics of the vibration were investigated in vacuum. In addition, the flexural progressive wave was excited on the thin plate structures by using two lasers with different modulation phases.<>