The disclosure discloses a vibration generator and a stacked-structure generator. The vibration generator includes an arched friction unit 1 and an arched friction unit 2. An concave inner surface of the arched friction unit 1 and an concave inner surface of the arched friction unit 2 are located opposite to each other as friction surfaces; and, the arched friction units 1 and 2 are provided with electrodes at convex outer surfaces thereof, which are concurrently served as supporting layers. The stacked-structure generator includes a plurality of the vibration generators, and several sets of a first geometrically complementary-shaped friction unit, which matches the electrode of the vibration generator that is concurrently served as the supporting layer, and a second geometrically complementary-shaped friction unit. The first geometrically complementary-shaped friction unit and the electrode concurrently served as the supporting layer that is coupled thereto and the second geometrically complementary-shaped friction unit and the electrode concurrently served as the supporting layer that is coupled thereto are attached to form a vibration generator that is complementary to the vibration generator. The present disclosure greatly increases output voltage of the generator and effectively increases collection and usage of environment energy.

A microelectromechanical actuator for a light beam steering device is provided that includes memory cells coupled to at least one electronic circuitry component and electrode segments coupled to a respective one of the memory cells via the at least one electronic circuitry component. A flexible metal layer having support pillars is on the electrode segments. Flexible beams are attached to the support pillars and a movable electrode attaches to the flexible beams. A mirror is attached to the movable electrode. When one or more of the electrode segments is activated, the mirror is displaced a distance to steer a light beam output from a light source in a direction.

A variable stiffening device that include a first electrode structure and a second electrode structure. The first electrode structure includes an electrode extension that extends into a cavity defined between an electrode of the first electrode structure and an opposing electrode of the second electrode structure. The first and second electrode structures may be arranged in a load-bearing state by applying a voltage thereto to electrostatically attract the electrode to the opposing electrode to press the electrode extension within the cavity. Friction between the electrode extension and engaging surfaces defining the cavity prevent the electrode extension from slipping within the cavity, thereby maintaining a structural relationship among the components of the first and second electrode structures in response to an application of a load to the variable stiffening device.

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device may be provided with one or more sintered electrical contacts. The MEMS device may be a MEMS actuator or a MEMS sensor. The sintered electrical contacts may be silver-paste metalized electrical contacts. The sintered electrical contacts may be formed by depositing a sintering material such as a metal paste, a metal preform, a metal ink, or a metal powder on a wafer of released MEMS devices and heating the wafer so that the deposited sintering material diffuses into a substrate of the device, thereby making electrical contact with the device. The deposited sintering material may break through an insulating layer on the substrate during the sintering process. The MEMS device may be a multiple degree of freedom actuator having first and second MEMS actuators that facilitate autofocus, zoom, and optical image stabilization for a camera.

According to various embodiments, a MEMS device includes a substrate, an electrically movable heating element having a first node coupled to a first terminal of a first voltage source and the second node coupled to a reference voltage source, a first anchor anchoring the first node and a second anchor anchoring the second node of the electrically movable heating element to the substrate, and a cavity between the first anchor and the second anchor and between the electrically movable heating element and the substrate.

The invention includes miniature dots, miniature disks or miniature cylinders and methods of making the same by dispersing a particle in or on a dissolvable, meltable or etchable layer on a substrate, a portion of the particle exposed above a surface of the dissolvable, meltable or etchable layer; depositing a mask on the particles and the dissolvable substrate; removing the particles from the layer; etching an array of nanoholes in the substrate; depositing one or more metallic layers into the nanoholes to form an array of dots, disks or cylinders; and dissolving the dissolvable layer with a solvent to expose the dots, disks or cylinders. The dots, disks or cylinders can be included with two sets of microelectrodes for ultrahigh speed rotation of miniature motors, and/or can be designed with a magnetic configuration into miniature motors for uniform rotation speeds and prescribed angular displacement. The invention also includes modified diatom frustules, and miniature motors containing modified diatom frustules.

According to various embodiments, a MEMS device includes a substrate, an electrically movable heating element having a first node coupled to a first terminal of a first voltage source and the second node coupled to a reference voltage source, a first anchor anchoring the first node and a second anchor anchoring the second node of the electrically movable heating element to the substrate, and a cavity between the first anchor and the second anchor and between the electrically movable heating element and the substrate.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure relates to a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) comb actuator including a comb structure. The comb structure includes a support layer having a first material and a plurality of protrusions extending away from a first surface of the support layer in a first direction. The plurality of protrusions are also made of the first material. The plurality of protrusions are separated along a second direction parallel to the first surface of the support layer. The MEMS comb actuator may further include a dielectric liner structure that continuously and completely covers the first surface of the support layer and outer surfaces of the plurality of protrusions. The dielectric liner structure includes a connective portion that continuously connects topmost surfaces of at least two of the plurality of protrusions.

In this invention, an imaging module and a method for fabricating it are provided. By designing first and second electrodes, a movable part of the second electrode is connected to the flexible part. Upon a voltage being applied to the first and second electrodes, the second electrode moves toward the first electrode, resulting in a stretch and hence a shape change of a flexible part. As a result, the imaging module undergoes a change in terms of focal length, amount of admitted light and/or admissible range of angle of incident light. In particular, a motion controller incorporating the first and second electrodes can be easily fabricated by semiconductor processes to a very small size, making the imaging module very suitable for use in electronic terminals such as mobile phones with confined enclosure spaces.

A control circuit for a microelectromechanical element includes: a waveform generator, which is designed to generate a digital trigger signal for the microelectromechanical element, a modulator, which is designed to oversample the digital trigger signal, to subject the signal to a noise shaping, and to output the oversampled and noise-shaped digital trigger signal; and a digital driver device, which is designed to drive the microelectromechanical element using the oversampled and noise-shaped digital trigger signal.