Comb-drive XYZ-microstage based on assembling technology for low temperature measurement systems

This paper reports the novel design, fabrication and testing of a chip-level-assembled comb-drive XYZ-microstage that produces large displacements into X-, Y-, and Z-directions for the three-dimensional scanning stage of magnetic resonance force microscopy. The main parts of the XYZ-microstage, consisting of a comb-drive XY-microstage, two comb-drive Z-microstages and a bottom silicon base substrate, are assembled together by using micro manipulators. Mechanical springs are used to realize the electrical connections between the XY-microstage and the Z-microstages. It is demonstrated that the assembled XYZ-microstage can achieve large displacements of 25.2 µm in X direction, 20.4 µm in Y direction and 58.5 µm in Z direction. Also, the fabricated Z-microstage integrated with capacitive displacement sensors is installed into a vacuum chamber equipped with a liquid nitrogen cooling stage to evaluate the actuation performance at low temperatures. A maximum displacement of ∼60 µm without any degradation is obtained in the Z-microstage at 77.6 K.