Analytical modeling of dual actuated compliant beam microgripper system

This paper presents the analytical modeling for the design of a microgripper system that comprises dual jaw actuation mechanism with real-time contact sensing. The interdigitated lateral comb-drive based electrostatic actuator is used to move the gripper arms. Simultaneous contact sensing is achieved through a transverse comb based capacitive sensor, to detect the contact between the jaws and microobject. The detailed analytical modeling of the microgripper reveals that the stresses induced in the structure is well below the maximum yield stress of 7000 MPa for single crystal silicon. The fabricated microgripper produced a displacement of 16 $\mu$m at gripper jaws for the applied actuation voltage of 45 V, which is approximately the same as predicted by the analytical model.