Planar integrated electro-pneumatic actuator for amplified vertical protrusion

초록

We propose a planar electrostatic-pneumatic actuator (PEPA), in which spatially distributed electrostatic compression cells are coupled to a common pneumatic output chamber via a pressure-routing microchannel network. Voltage-induced electrostatic collapse drives sealed air into the pneumatic output chamber, generating pneumatic pressurization and amplified protrusion governed primarily by the geometric volume ratio between the electrostatic compression cells and pneumatic output chamber. We fabricated a compact PEPA with an active area of ∼70 mm2 and ten electrostatic compression cells, achieving a protrusive displacement of ∼100 µm at an applied voltage of 300 V. Micro-dot/nanobrush features introduced on the surface of the dielectric layer on the compression cell bottom electrode reduced residual electrostatic adhesion, yielding 12 × shorter recovery time and enabling practically repeatable operation relative to an untreated compression cell. Under a 50 gf load, PEPA delivers ∼35 µm protrusion relative to the bottom-substrate reference plane (∼5 µm active incremental displacement) at an actuation voltage of 400 V. As a proof of concept, a through-hole/channel-based fluidic module integrated on top of the PEPA was demonstrated that enabled flow gating and reciprocating volumetric transfer. Overall, PEPA provides a scalable route to enhance self-contained coplanar hybrid actuation and enables compact mechanical and fluidic modulation in space-constrained systems.

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