This paper presents an underwater, silicon, thermal microac-tuation system capable of moving a 200 μN load to a displacement of 110 μm. Its function relies on a thermal actuator capable of 9 μm of displacement in an aqueous environment. This actuator is combined with a ratcheting device to achieve die 110 μm of displacement. The system is a microelectrome-chanical system (MEMS) fabricated with a two layer surface-micromachining process, PolyMUMPS. The actuation system is designed to provide motion to biological microelectromechani-cal systems (BioMEMS) in aqueous environments. This paper presents the design and experimental demonstration of the actuation system. The in-depth analysis of the thermal, mechanical, and fabrication aspects of the actuation system are outlined, and the experimental procedure and test parameters are discussed.
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