Ahmad Belal, Chambon Hugo, Tissier Pierre, Bolopion Aude
FEMTO-ST Institute, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS, 25000 Besançon, France.
Micromachines (Basel). 2021 Nov 30;12(12):1487. doi: 10.3390/mi12121487.
In this paper, we propose a laser actuated microgripper that can be activated remotely for micromanipulation applications. The gripper is based on an optothermally actuated polymeric chevron-shaped structure coated with optimized metallic layers to enhance its optical absorbance. Gold is used as a metallic layer due to its good absorption of visible light. The thermal deformation of the chevron-shaped actuator with metallic layers is first modeled to identify the parameters affecting its behavior. Then, an optimal thickness of the metallic layers that allows the largest possible deformation is obtained and compared with simulation results. Next, microgrippers are fabricated using conventional photolithography and metal deposition techniques for further characterization. The experiments show that the microgripper can realize an opening of 40 µm, a response time of 60 ms, and a generated force in the order of hundreds of µN. Finally, a pick-and-place experiment of 120 µm microbeads is conducted to confirm the performance of the microgripper. The remote actuation and the simple fabrication and actuation of the proposed microgripper makes it a highly promising candidate to be utilized as a mobile microrobot for lab-on-chip applications.
在本文中，我们提出了一种激光驱动的微夹钳，它可以远程激活以用于微操作应用。该微夹钳基于一种光热驱动的聚合物人字形结构，表面涂覆有优化的金属层以提高其光吸收率。由于金对可见光具有良好的吸收性，因此用作金属层。首先对带有金属层的人字形致动器的热变形进行建模，以确定影响其行为的参数。然后，获得允许最大可能变形的金属层的最佳厚度，并与模拟结果进行比较。接下来，使用传统光刻和金属沉积技术制造微夹钳以进行进一步表征。实验表明，该微夹钳可以实现40 µm的开口、60 ms的响应时间以及数百微牛量级的产生力。最后，进行了120 µm微珠的拾取和放置实验，以确认微夹钳的性能。所提出的微夹钳的远程驱动以及简单的制造和驱动方式使其成为用于芯片实验室应用的移动微型机器人的极具潜力的候选者。
