Thermal actuation of clamped silicon microbeans

A report on the theoretical and experimental investigations of the basic aspects of thermal actuation of clamped silicon microbeams is given. The mechanical prop­erties of the beams over a wide frequency range including resonance are studied first. The experimental confirmation of the theoretical predictions serves as a reference for further steps. These include the introduction of a thermal moment and the translation of this concept into (local) bending moments. In this way the dynamjc behaviour of thermally actuated beams can be properly described. Both a thermal sheet source ("bimetal") and a distributed source (as generated by radia­tion) are treated. The characteristic features are investigated theoretically and con­firmed by experiments.