Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches
Abstract The ability to control high-voltage actuator arrays relies, to date, on expensive microelectronic processes or on individual wiring of each actuator to a single off-chip high-voltage switch. Here we present an alternative approach that uses on-chip photoconductive switches together with a l...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Publishing Group
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Microsystems & Nanoengineering |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-023-00528-w |
| _version_ | 1797822788965236736 |
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| author | Vesna Bacheva Amir Firouzeh Edouard Leroy Aiste Balciunaite Diana Davila Israel Gabay Federico Paratore Moran Bercovici Herbert Shea Govind Kaigala |
| author_facet | Vesna Bacheva Amir Firouzeh Edouard Leroy Aiste Balciunaite Diana Davila Israel Gabay Federico Paratore Moran Bercovici Herbert Shea Govind Kaigala |
| author_sort | Vesna Bacheva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The ability to control high-voltage actuator arrays relies, to date, on expensive microelectronic processes or on individual wiring of each actuator to a single off-chip high-voltage switch. Here we present an alternative approach that uses on-chip photoconductive switches together with a light projection system to individually address high-voltage actuators. Each actuator is connected to one or more switches that are nominally OFF unless turned ON using direct light illumination. We selected hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) as our photoconductive material, and we provide a complete characterization of its light to dark conductance, breakdown field, and spectral response. The resulting switches are very robust, and we provide full details of their fabrication processes. We demonstrate that the switches can be integrated into different architectures to support both AC and DC-driven actuators and provide engineering guidelines for their functional design. To demonstrate the versatility of our approach, we demonstrate the use of the photoconductive switches in two distinctly different applications—control of µm-sized gate electrodes for patterning flow fields in a microfluidic chamber and control of cm-sized electrostatic actuators for creating mechanical deformations for haptic displays. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:14:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ada23a431434033a1ca3cefd85b02ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2055-7434 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T10:14:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microsystems & Nanoengineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ada23a431434033a1ca3cefd85b02ed2023-05-21T11:19:00ZengNature Publishing GroupMicrosystems & Nanoengineering2055-74342023-05-019111010.1038/s41378-023-00528-wDynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switchesVesna Bacheva0Amir Firouzeh1Edouard Leroy2Aiste Balciunaite3Diana Davila4Israel Gabay5Federico Paratore6Moran Bercovici7Herbert Shea8Govind Kaigala9Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of TechnologySoft Transducers Laboratory (LMTS), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)Soft Transducers Laboratory (LMTS), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)IBM Research Europe - ZurichIBM Research Europe - ZurichFaculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of TechnologyIBM Research Europe - ZurichFaculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of TechnologySoft Transducers Laboratory (LMTS), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)IBM Research Europe - ZurichAbstract The ability to control high-voltage actuator arrays relies, to date, on expensive microelectronic processes or on individual wiring of each actuator to a single off-chip high-voltage switch. Here we present an alternative approach that uses on-chip photoconductive switches together with a light projection system to individually address high-voltage actuators. Each actuator is connected to one or more switches that are nominally OFF unless turned ON using direct light illumination. We selected hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) as our photoconductive material, and we provide a complete characterization of its light to dark conductance, breakdown field, and spectral response. The resulting switches are very robust, and we provide full details of their fabrication processes. We demonstrate that the switches can be integrated into different architectures to support both AC and DC-driven actuators and provide engineering guidelines for their functional design. To demonstrate the versatility of our approach, we demonstrate the use of the photoconductive switches in two distinctly different applications—control of µm-sized gate electrodes for patterning flow fields in a microfluidic chamber and control of cm-sized electrostatic actuators for creating mechanical deformations for haptic displays.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-023-00528-w |
| spellingShingle | Vesna Bacheva Amir Firouzeh Edouard Leroy Aiste Balciunaite Diana Davila Israel Gabay Federico Paratore Moran Bercovici Herbert Shea Govind Kaigala Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches Microsystems & Nanoengineering |
| title | Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches |
| title_full | Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches |
| title_fullStr | Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches |
| title_short | Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches |
| title_sort | dynamic control of high voltage actuator arrays by light pattern projection on photoconductive switches |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-023-00528-w |
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