Electro-thermal modeling and experimental validation for multilayered metallic microstructures

This paper proposes an electro-thermal modeling on multilayered metallic microstructures that are able to deploy vertically when thermally actuated. A typical design of such microstructures is presented, and the working principle is described. A lumped model is established to find the analytical solution to the temperature distribution when actuated by Joule heating, which shows a good agreement with the results from finite element analysis (FEA). Fabrication and experimental testing of the microstructure are followed, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and temperature-dependent electrical measurement are combined to determine the in-situ temperature when the microstructure is heated with a constant power of 0.56 mW in SEM. The peak temperature derived from the experiment is approximately 333 K, while the peak temperature simulated by the lumped model and FEA model are 330.99 and 331.85 K, respectively. The proposed multilayered microstructures show great potential for applications in microrobotic actuators, and the lumped model offers an effective tool for the design and optimization of such microstructures based on diverse requirements.