Abstract
An out-of-plane electrothermal microactuating apparatus and method comprises at least four similar shaft members manufactured by using MEMS technique. At least two interior shaft members and at least two external shaft members are connected through the use of a connecting shaft member. In addition, the design of stairway structure is used and fabricated on at least two interior shaft members, or at least two external shaft members, or on the connecting shaft member so as to form the entire structure and have various height differences. When heating the interior shaft member, the interior shaft member is made to have larger thermal expansion quantity so as to have either upward or downward out-of-plane motion for the thermally actuated apparatus. In the same way, when the external shaft member is heated, the external shaft member is made to have larger thermal expansion quantity so as to have either downward or upward out-of-plane motion for the thermally actuated apparatus. The invented out-of-plane electrothermally microactuating apparatus can be applied in manufacturing the related products such as micro-relay, micro scanning mirror, micro optical switch, micro variable optical attenuator, or micromanipulator.