Tantalizing Tantalum Actuators and Sensors

Carnegie Mellon University - Accelerometers in mobile phones, microprocessors in laptops, and gyroscopes that balance drones each rely on microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS for short. Within these small systems are even smaller devices, called actuators and sensors, that perform various physical functions. One type is a thermal actuator, which transforms energy into motion by the expansion and contraction of materials due to temperature changes. You'll find MEMS thermal actuators inside computer disk drives, scanning probes and microengines. Currently, these thermal actuators rely on polysilicon, a material that requires high temperatures and consumes a considerable amount of power during the fabrication process. While working on related research, investigators at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering realized they had found an efficient substitute. Led by Maarten de Boer , professor of mechanical engineering , the team created microelectromechanical thermal actuators with tantalum instead of polysilicon.