1

A tristable compliant micromechanism with two serially

connected bistable mechanisms
Dung-An Wang
a, *
, Jyun-Hua Chen
a
and Huy-Tuan Pham
b
a
Graduate Institute of Precision Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung
40227, Taiwan, ROC
b
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Technical Education, Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam.
Abstract
A tristable micromechanism with a bistable mechanism embedded in a
surrounding bistable mechanism is developed. Three stable equilibrium positions are
within the range of the linear motion of the mechanism. The proposed mechanism has
no movable joints and gains its mobility from the deflection of flexible members. The
tristability of the mechanism originates from the different actuation loads of the two
bistable mechanisms. Finite element analyses are used to characterize the tristable
behavior of the mechanism under static loading. An optimal design formulation is
proposed to find the geometry parameters of the mechanism. Prototypes of the
mechanism are fabricated by a simple electroforming process. The characteristics of the
mechanism are verified by experiments. The force versus displacement curve of the
mechanism exhibits the tristable behavior within a displacement range of 260 m.
Keywords: Tristable micromechanism; bistable
____________
*
Corresponding author: Tel.:+886-4-22840531 ext. 365; fax:+886-4-22858362
E-mail address: daw@dragon.nchu.edu.tw (D.-A. Wang).
1. Introduction
Multiple passive stable equilibrium configurations enable the design of systems
with both power efficiency and kinematic versatility while the actuators and control stay
simple [1]. For example, multistable mechanisms can be used for multiple switching and
optical networking [2]. With the concept of multistable mechanisms, a wide range of
operating regimes or novel mechanical systems without undue power consumption can be
created [1]. Substantial interest has focused on design of bistable [3-10], tristable, [11-
16], and quadristable mechanisms [1, 2, 17].
In the regime of tristable mechanisms (TMs), Ohsaki and Nishiwaki [11] used a
shape optimization approach to generate a truss-like TM. Due to the random nature of
2
their design method, the number of structural members of the generated mechanism
might be large. Su and McCarthy [12] synthesized a compliant four-bar linkage with
three equilibrium configurations. A successful design relies on the fact that both
kinematic and static constraints of their compliant mechanisms can be modeled in
polynomial equations. Oberhammer et al. [13] proposed tristable mechanism actuated by
electrostatic actuators. A large electrostatic force is required to avoid contact stiction
between the structural members of their mechanism. Based on geometric symmetry,
Pendleton and Jensen [14] demonstrated a tristable four-link mechanism. Their design
has three mechanically stable positions gained through storage and release of elastic
energy, not through friction or detents. Chen et al. [15] developed a tristable
micromechanism based on the operation of certain bistable compliant mechanism with
soft spring-like behavior. When pulled in the opposite direction from the fabricated
position, their mechanism exhibits the three stable equilibrium positions. Chen et al. [16]
proposed a tristable mechanism which employs orthogonal compliant mechanisms to
achieve tristability. Nonsymmetric designs may be needed to replace the symmetric
configuration of their mechanism in order to reach a desired equilibrium position between
the two possible deflected positions of the end-effector.
This paper describes a design of a compliant TM. The proposed TM has a
curved-beam bistable mechanism embedded in another curved-beam bistable structure.
Multi-stability is provided by buckling of curved-beam structures of the mechanism. The
design concept of combining two bistable mechanisms has been reported by Han et al. [2],
Chen et al. [17] and Oh and Kota [18], where the multistability originates from bistable
behaviors of the mechanism along two orthogonal directions [2, 17] or of a combined
motion of two bistable rotational mechanisms [18]. The motion of the proposed TM is
translational in a one-dimensional manner. Finite element analyses are carried out to
evaluate the mechanical behaviors of the design. Prototypes of the device are fabricated
using an electroforming process. Experiments are carried out to demonstrate the
effectiveness of the TM.
2. Design
2.1 Operational principle
A schematic of the TM is shown in Fig. 1(a). A Cartesian coordinate system is
also shown in the figure. The z axis completes the right handed orthogonal set. The
mechanism consists of a shuttle mass, a guide beam, inner curved beams and outer
curved beams. The inner curved beams clamped at one end by the shuttle mass and fixed
at the other end by the guide beam acts similar to a bistable mechanism of curved beam
type. The outer curved beams with one end clamped at the guide beam and the other end
fixed at the anchor also behave similar to a bistable mechanism of curved beam type.
The shuttle mass and the guide beam are employed to prevent the mechanism from
twisting during operation, and are designed to be stiff. Furthermore, curved beams with
large thickness in the z-direction could also be used to prevent twisting of the mechanism.
Upon the application of a force F to the shuttle mass in the y direction, the outer
curved beams deflect initially, increasing the strain energy. The compression energy in
the outer curved beams increases to a maximum at a certain displacement of the
mechanism, but then decreases as the mechanism snaps towards its second stable position,
as shown in Fig. 1(b). As the TM deflects further, the bending energy in the outer and
3
inner curved beams increases. While the compression energy in the inner curved beams
increases to a maximum at a certain displacement of the mechanism, but then decreases
as the mechanism snaps towards its third stable position, as shown in Fig. 1(c).
Fig. 1 Operational principle of the TM.
Vangbo [19] treated the snap-through behavior of a double-clamped curved beam
using Eulers beam buckling theory [20]. He evaluated the bending and compression
energy terms of his analytical solution, and found that bending energy is larger than
compression energy when the beam is loaded initially; as the displacement of the beam
increases, compression energy increases rapidly and bending energy decreases; after the
event of snap-through of the beam, bending energy starts to increase again while the
compression energy remains constant due to a constant stress normal to the cross-section
of the beam.
4
Fig. 2 A typical force versus displacement curve of the TM and the corresponding
configurations at displacement a , displacement b , and displacement c , shown in the
inlets.
Fig. 2 shows a typical reaction force versus displacement (f-d) curve of the TM.
The configurations of the TM in its three stable positions are shown in the inlets. When a
force is applied to the mechanism through the shuttle mass, the value of the reaction force
of the TM increases initially, and reaches a local maximum,
max
1
F , the critical force for
outer beams of the TM to buckle. When the force applied to the mechanism is greater
than
max
1
F , the outer beams of the TM buckle and the reaction force decreases, reaches a
local minimum,
min
1
F , then increases and attains a value of 0, where the TM is in its
second stable position b . As the shuttle mass is displaced further, the reaction force
increases, reaches a local maximum,
max
2
F , the critical force for inner beams of the TM to
buckle. . When the force applied to the mechanism is greater than
max
2
F , the inner beams
of the TM buckle and the reaction force decreases, reaches a local minimum,
min
2
F , then
increases again and attains a value of 0, where the TM is in its third stable position c .
5
Fig. 3 (a) A schematic of a quarter model. (b) Dimensions of the guide beam and the
shuttle mass.
2.2 Design
The shape of the outer and inner curved beams of the TM is based on cosine
curves. Due to symmetry, only a quarter model of the mechanism is considered. Fig. 3(a)
is a schematic of the quarter model. The shape of the curved beams is
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
i
r i
r
L
x h
y

cos 1
2
(1)
where ) , (
r r
y x is the position vector with the reference origin at the left end of the curved
beams. L and h are the span and apex height of the curved beams, respectively. The
subscript i = 1 and 2 refer to the outer and inner curved beams, respectively. The widths
of the outer and inner curved beams,
1
W and
2
W , respectively, are indicated in Fig. 3(a).
The design of the TM is based on an optimization procedure where the geometry
parameters of the TM is optimized via the parameters of
1
L ,
1
h ,
1
W ,
2
L ,
2
h and
2
W . The
nondominated sorting genetic algorithm [21] is applied to the optimization of the shape
of outer and inner curved beams. In the optimization process, number of generations and
number of populations are specified as 10 and 20, respectively. The objective functions
of the optimization problem are
1
min
max
1
1

F
F
Min (2)
1
min
max
2
2

F
F
Min (3)
where
max
1
F ,
min
1
F ,
max
2
F , and
min
2
F are the reaction forces of the TM indicated in Fig. 2.
The objective function of Equation (2) is selected for assurance of a high level of snap-
6
through behavior of the TM so that the mechanism can settle down to its second stable
position easily. The objective function of Equation (3) is also formulated for assurance of
a high level of snap-through behavior of the TM to have the mechanism settle down to its
third stable position and to eliminate the possibility of returning to its second stable
position under influence of small disturbance.
The widths of the outer and inner curved beams,
1
W =8 m and
2
W =7 m ,
respectively, are indicated in Fig. 3(a). The outer curved beams have the span
1
L =1252
m, and the apex height
1
h =75 m. The inner curved beams have the span
2
L =1105
m, and the apex height
2
h =74 m. The z-direction thickness of the outer and inner
curved beams is taken as 10 m. The guide beam and the shuttle have their dimensions
indicated in Fig. 3(b). The z-direction thickness of the guide beam and the shuttle mass is
20 m.
Fig. 4 A mesh for the finite element model.
Due to the geometry complexity, finite element analysis is utilized to obtain the f-
d curve of the TM. Fig. 4 shows a mesh for a two-dimensional finite element model. A
Cartesian coordinate system is also shown in the figure. As shown in Fig. 4, a uniform
displacement is applied in the y direction to the right end of the inner curved beam,
and the displacements in the x , y directions and the rotational degree of freedom at the
anchors are constrained to represent the clamped boundary conditions in the experiment.
The displacement in the x direction and the rotational degree of freedom of the
symmetry plane are constrained to represent the symmetry conditions due to the loading
conditions and the geometry of the model. In this investigation, the material of the
device is assumed to be nickel. For the linear elastic and isotropic model, the Youngs
modulus E is taken as 205 GPa, and the Poissons ratio
p
is taken as 31 . 0 . The
commercial finite element program ABAQUS is employed to perform the computations.
The finite element model has 124 2-node beam elements. The width and the z-direction
thickness of the beam element B21 employed in the finite element analyses are specified
according to the dimensions of the TM. A mesh convergence study is performed to
obtain accurate solutions of displacement solutions.
7
Fig. 5 (a) f-d curve and maximum stress versus displacement curve; (b) strain energy
curve.
2.3 Analysis
Fig. 5(a) shows the f-d curve of the TM when the shuttle mass is displaced in the
y direction, where a = 0 m, b = 139 m, c = 296 m,
max
1
F = 584 N ,
min
1
F = -
168 N ,
max
2
F = 514 N , and
min
2
F = -260 N . As seen in the figure, when the
displacement of the shuttle mass increases from 0 (the first stable equilibrium position),
the reaction force increases initially, then reaches a local maximum value,
max
1
F . As the
displacement increases further, the reaction force decreases; in the event of snap-through
of the outer beams of the mechanism, where the strain energy of the outer beams is near a
local maximum
max
1
U shown in Fig. 5(b), the reaction force reaches a value of 0, then
decreases and attains a local minimum,
min
1
F . With the increasing displacement of the
shuttle mass, the reaction force increases again and reaches a value of 0 , where the
mechanism is in its second stable equilibrium position b . As the shuttle mass is
displaced further, the reaction force increases, reaches a local maximum value,
max
2
F . As
the displacement increases further, the reaction force decreases and reaches a value of 0;
then the inner beams of the TM buckle, where the strain energy of the inner beams is near
a local maximum
max
2
U shown in Fig. 5(b), and the reaction force decreases, attains a
8
local minimum,
min
2
F . Next the reaction force increases again, reaches a value of 0, and
the mechanism reaches its third stable equilibrium position c . It can be said that the
tristability of the mechanism originates from the different actuation loads of the two
bistable mechanisms. Fig. 5(a) also shows the von Mises stress as a function of the
displacement based on the finite element computations. The highest stress, 602 MPa,
occurs in the event of the second snap-through of the TM. In order to avoid yielding of
the TM under loading, the stress in the mechanism should not exceed the typical yield
strength, 700 MPa, of the nickel material used for the TM in this investigation. As seen
in the figure, the value of the highest stress is less than the yield strength of the material.
As shown in Fig. 5(b), when the displacement of the mechanism increases from
its first stable position, the strain energy of the outer beams increases, and the strain
energy of the inner beams increases slightly. As the displacement of the mechanism
increases further before the mechanism snaps to the second stable equilibrium position,
b , the majority of the strain energy is absorbed by the outer beams. In the event of snap-
through of the outer beams of the mechanism, the strain energy is near a local maximum
max
1
U , then decreases and attains a local minimum. As the TM deflects further, the strain
energy in the outer and inner curved beam increases. As the displacement of the
mechanism increases beyond a certain displacement, where the inner beams of the TM
buckle, the strain energy of the inner beams drops abruptly from a local maximum,
max
2
U ,
and the strain energy of the outer beams decreases gradually. While the strain energy of
the inner beams decreases towards a local minimum; the mechanism settles in its third
stable equilibrium position, c .
As shown in Fig. 5(a), the f-d curve of the TM is highly nonlinear. The
nonlinearities can be attributed to the post-buckling behavior, geometric nonlinearity and
damping effects. Geometry nonlinearities due to large deflections are commonly
encountered in compliant mechanisms [22]. Large strain of the TM causes significant
changes in its geometry. Modeling of force-deflection characteristics of multistable
compliant mechanisms can be performed by the pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) [15].
However, in order to accurately describe the behavior of compliant mechanisms using
PRBM, where to place the added springs and what value to assign their spring constants
are important. Chen et al. [15] have shown that a pseudo-rigid-body model can be used
to identify tristable configurations. The link lengths and spring constants of the model
need to be calculated. An elaborate system of virtual work and kinematic equations is
solved numerically to obtain the f-d curve of their TM. Theory of static Euler buckling
of a double-clamped slender beam can be used to model the force-deflection and snap-
through behavior of the compliant beams [23]. This classical treatment has been used for
the analysis of compliant bistable mechanisms with curved double-clamped beams with
fixed ends [20, 23, 24].
In order to analyze and design the tristable compliant mechanisms, an analytical
model should be provided. Because the TM includes initially curved beams and
undergoes a large deformation, we presented an analytical model to provide an insight
into the influence of the design parameters on the behaviors of the TM. The model is
based on a curved beam model reported by Gerson et al. [25], where arch-shaped beams
are connected serially and exhibit sequential buckling. The TM considered here
experiences multiple snap-through between its stable equilibrium positions. A
9
multistable mechanism shall require no force to keep the mechanism in its stable
equilibrium position. Multiple snap-through behavior of the serially connected bistable
beams of Gerson et al. [25] is observed. However, external force is needed to keep their
mechanism in some of its stable positions. The model presented below follows the basic
procedure described by Gerson et al. [25] for their curved beams. It is assumed that the
apex height h and the width W are much smaller than the span L of the curved beams
of the TM. The equilibrium of the beams is described by the two differential equations as
[25]
0
2
) (
2
=
'
|
|
.
|

\
| '
+ ' + '
w
y u EA
r
(4)
( ) ) (
2
) (
2
L x F
w
w y u w y EA EIw
r
IV
=
'
(

|
|
.
|

\
| '
+ ' ' + ' ' ' + (5)
where ) (x u and ) (x w are the axial displacement and the lateral displacement,
respectively, ) ( x is the Dirac delta function, F is the force applied to the midpoint of
the TM, and dx d / ) ( = ' . E, A and I are the Youngs modulus, the cross-sectional area
and the second moment of the area, respectively. The proposed TM is composed of
double-clamped beams with fixed ends, where the embedded bistable mechanism has
sliding clamped boundary conditions. Due to symmetry, only a half TM is considered
and the symmetry conditions 0 = ' u , 0 = ' w and 2 / F w EI = ' ' ' at the midpoint of the TM
are enforced. Equations (4) and (5) are solved numerically with bvp4c, a two-point
boundary value problem (BVP) solver integrated in the software Matlab. In order to
solve the three-point BVP of the TM with two serially connected beams using bvp4c, this
BVP is solved as two problems. One set on ] , 0 [
1
L and the other on ] , [
2 1
L L . By defining
an independent variable ) /( ) (
1 2 1 1
L L L x L = , ranges from 0 to
1
L in the second
interval like x in the first interval. Equations (4) and (5) must be written as a system of
first order ordinary differential equations for each set. By prescribing a deflection at the
midpoint of the TM, the force F considered as an unknown parameter can be calculated.
Fig. 6 shows the f-d curve obtained by the analytical model. The f-d curve based
on the finite element model is also shown in the figure. The trend of the f-d curve
predicted by the analytical model agrees with that of the finite element model. The
relative errors in the first stable position and the second stable position are 6.5% and
0.3%, respectively. The discrepancy can be attributed to the approximate nature of the
analytical model due to the high geometry nonlinearities and the large deflections
exhibited by the TM. It is assumed that h L and the deflections, while comparable
with the thickness of the beam, are small with respective to L in order to obtain accurate
predictions of the f-d curve based on the analytical model [25]. In this investigation, the
deflection 310 m is relatively large compared to the spans
1
2L and
2
2L , which values
are indicated in Fig. 3(a). As described by Gerson et al. [25], this simple analytical
model is convenient for the evaluation of the preliminary design parameters of curved
beams. Accurate predictions of the f-d curves of curved beams, e.g. the tristable
compliant mechanisms considered here, should resort to more elaborate models.
10
Fig. 6 f-d curves based on the analytical model and the finite element model.
Fig. 7 Fabrication steps.
11
Table 1 Chemical composition and operation conditions for the low-stress nickel
electroplating solution.
Chemical/plating parameter Amount/value
Nickel sulfamate
( O 4H ) SO Ni(NH
2 2 3 2
)
600 g/L
Boric acid (
3 3
BO H )
40 g/L
Nickel chloride ( O H 6 NiCl
2 2
)
5 g /L
Stress reducer 15 ml/L
Leveling agent 15 ml/L
Wetting agent 2 ml/L
Bath temperature 45 C
Plating current type dc current
pH of the solution 4.3
Plating current density
1.5
2
A/dm
Deposition rate 0.26 m/min
Anode-cathode spacing 100 mm
Anode type titanium
3. Fabrication and testing
In order to prove the tristability of the TM design, prototypes of the mechanisms
are fabricated by a simple electroforming process on glass substrates. Fig. 7 shows the
fabrication steps, where three masks are used. First, a titanium metallization layer is
deposited on the whole glass substrate. Next, a 5 m-thick photoresist (AZ4620) is
coated and patterned to prepare a mold for electrodeposition of a copper sacrificial layer.
Then, the photoresist is stripped and a 10 m-thick photoresist (AZ4620) is coated and
patterned on top of the copper sacrificial layer. Into this mold, a 10 m-thick nickel layer
is electrodeposited using a low-stress nickel sulfamate bath with the chemical
compositions listed in Table 1. Next, a 10 m-thick photoresist (AZ4620) is coated and
patterned to prepare a mold for nickel electroplating on top of the shuttle, the rigid link
and the anchors. Then, a 10 m-thick nickel is electrodeposited onto the mold.
Following that, the photoresist and copper sacrificial layers are removed to release the
nickel microstructures. Finally, the titanium layer outside the anchor regions is wet
etched. Fig. 8(a) shows an optical microscope (OM) photo of a fabricated device. Fig.
8(b), (c) and (d) shows the close-up views of the TM near the guide beam; the shuttle
mass and the anchor, respectively.
12
Fig. 8 (a) A photo of a fabricated TM. Close-up views of the TM near (b) the guide
beam; (c) the shuttle mass; (c) the anchor.
Fig. 9 (a) Experimental setup. (b) Dimensions of the probe. (c) A close-up view near
the tip of the probe.
Fig. 9(a) is a photo of the experimental setup for measurement of the f-d curve of
the TM. A Cartesian coordinate system is also shown in the figure. The substrate with
specimens for testing is mounted on a rotation stage. The rotation stage can rotate with
respect to the z axis. A probe for pushing the micromechanism is attached to a load cell
13
which is fixed to a translation stage with z translation degree of freedom. The z -
translation stage is placed on top of a translation stage with translational degree of
freedoms in x and y directions. The dimensions of the probe are indicated in Fig. 9(b).
In order to facilitate the translation of the probe parallel to the substrate and to maintain
contact of the probe tip with the micromechanism, the tip of the probe is machined to
have a 135 slant angle to the probe axis as shown in Fig. 9(c). The translation stages
have a resolution of 10 m. The resolution of the rotation stage is

6 / 1 . The load cell
(LVS-5GA, Kyowa Electronic Instruments Co., Ltd.) has a rated capacity of 50 mN, and
a resolution of 10 N .
The alignment of the probe axis to the loading axis of micromechanisms is
adjusted by the rotation stage and the translation stages so that the micromechanism does
not twist during loading. Initially the mechanism is in its first stable equilibrium position.
The probe tip is pushed slowly against the edge surface of the shuttle mass of the
mechanism. The pressing force applied to the mechanism is increased until it snaps
toward its other stable equilibrium positions. The displacement of the shuttle mass and
the reading of the load cell are recorded. A CCD camera is used for capturing the
successive images of the motion of the mechanism.
Fig. 10 Snapshots for motion of the TM.
4. Results and discussions
Using the experimental setup, the tristable behavior of the TM is demonstrated.
The experimental f-d curves of the motion of the mechanism are also obtained. Fig. 10
shows sequences of snapshots from experiments. As shown in Fig. 10(a-d), a force is
applied on an edge surface of the shuttle mass. When the magnitude of the force is
increased, the shuttle mass moves forward. As the force reaches a certain maximum
value, the probe tip loses contact with the top surface of the shuttle mass, and the
mechanism snaps into its second stable position (Fig. 10(b)). Then the probe tip is
moved to contact with the edge surface of the shuttle mass again and pushed slowly until
the TM snaps into its third stable position (Fig. 10(c)). As the probe tip is pulled
backward, the TM stays in its third stable position (see Fig. 10(d)).
14
Fig. 11 shows the f-d curves of the micromechanism bases on experiments and
finite element computations. As the shuttle mass is displaced, the reaction force
increases initially. In the event of snap-through, the probe tip loses contact with the
shuttle mass, and the TM snaps into its second stable position as seen by the
discontinuous curve of the experiments. A displacement controlled approach is adopted
in the finite element analyses, where the snap-through behavior is signaled by the 0 value
of the reaction force, and the negative values of the reaction force are obtained while the
shuttle mass is displaced further towards the second stable position of the TM. As the
shuttle mass is displaced further, a local maximum of the reaction force is reached, then a
reduction in the reaction force indicates the second snap-through of the TM. At the
second snap-through, the probe tip loses contact with the shuttle mass and the mechanism
jumps to its third stable position. As shown in the figure, the micromechanism exhibits
the tristable behavior within a displacement range of 260 m. The general trend of the
experimental results agrees with that based on the finite element model with the designed
dimensions of the TM.
Fig. 11 f-d curves of the fabricated TM.
The discrepancies between the experiments and finite element analyses of the
device can be attributed to uncertainties in material properties, geometry and loading
conditions of the experiments. It is revealed by optical microscopic inspections that the
width measured on the top surface of the beam is larger than that of the design. The
widths of the outer and inner curved beams measured by an Olympus Bx60 confocal
microscope are 9 m and 9 m, respectively, which are larger than the designed widths
of the outer and inner curved beams,
1
W =8 m and
2
W =7 m, respectively. As shown
in Fig. 11, the finite element model with the measured dimensions does not improve
much in terms of the prediction of the stable positions, compared to those based on the
model with the designed dimensions. Measurement errors of force and displacement also
contribute to the discrepancies. The contact of the probe tip for force measurement with
the surface of the shuttle mass is not fixed, where sliding may occur, and the alignment of
the longitudinal axis of the probe with the symmetry plane of the TM may not be perfect
during the experiments, where twisting of the TM may happen.
15
Fig. 12 Effects of the geometry parameters on the tristability of the TM.
16
The effects of the geometry parameters of the TM on the characteristics of the
design are investigated using the finite element model. Fig. 12(a) illustrates how the apex
heights
1
h and
2
h affect the tristability of the TM. The TMs preserving its tristability are
marked in the figure. The TM with the values of the geometry parameters causing the
TM to lose its tristability are also marked in the figure. For the TM with large values of
1
h and
2
h , the reaction forces
max
1
F ,
min
1
F ,
max
2
F , and
min
2
F , and the deflection ranges are
significantly larger than those with small values of
1
h and
2
h . Fig. 12(b) shows the
effects of the spans
1
L and
2
L on the tristability of the TM. For the TM with large values
of
1
L and
2
L , the range of the spans to preserve its tristability is large. However, the
tristability of the TM with large values of the spans degrades, which means it is difficult
to keep the TM in its stable equilibrium positions due to the relatively small values of the
reaction forces
max
1
F ,
min
1
F ,
max
2
F , and
min
2
F (in the order of 1 N ).
The effects of the widths of the outer and inner curved beams,
1
W and
2
W ,
respectively, are illustrated in Fig. 12(c). The reaction forces of the TM with small
values of the widths are much smaller than those with large values of the widths. For
example, the reaction forces of the TM with
1
W =1 m and
2
W =1 m are in the order of
1 N , and the smallest reaction force of the TM with
1
W =12 m and
2
W =13 m is in
the order of 10 N . The values of
1
W and
2
W of the TM of the optimal design, indicated
in Fig. 12(c), fall in about the middle of the ranges of
1
W and
2
W which preserve the
tristability of the TM. The designed beam width of the TM has a large margin of error to
ensure its tristability. Obviously, if the geometry parameters are uncertain due to
microfabrication processes, the device may lose the tristability.
Both the outer curved beams and inner curved beams of the TM buckle under
loading. In the current design, the outer beams buckle first and then inner beams buckle
(See Fig. 10). With the dimensions of
1
W =8 m ,
1
L =1110,
1
h =79 m ,
2
W =6 m ,
2
L =1164 m , and
2
h =77 m (these symbols are illustrated in Fig. 3(a)), the inner
beams buckle first and then outer beams buckle based on the analytical model. The
geometric parameters can be changed to achieve a different design. The proposed TM
provides tristability in a linear, sequential manner. A potential application of the TM
could be a microrobot system on chip for control of droplet dispensing in microchannels
in the field of chemical engineering and bioengineering which requires a sequential
operation with multistability for efficient reaction and productivity [26]. Another
possible application is the control of cascaded rubber-seal valves for gas regulation in
microchannels, where rectifying of gas flow can be achieved through the deflection of
valve diaphragms [27].
5. Conclusions
A TM has been designed, fabricated and validated by experiments. The TM
consists of beams with profiles of cosine curves. The combination of two bistable
mechanisms provides the tristability of the TM. Prototypes of the TM are fabricated by a
simple electroforming process. A device for obtaining the in-plane force-displacement
characteristics of the micromechanism is developed. The observed force versus
displacement curve of the micromechanism exhibits a well-defined tristability. The
17
micromechanism exhibits the tristable behavior within a displacement range of 260 m.
The presented design provides a means of attaining a tristable, planar micromechanism
with its motion in a linear manner.
Acknowledgement
The computing facilities provided by the National Center for High-Performance
Computing (NCHC) are greatly appreciated. The authors are thankful for financial
support from the National Science Council, R.O.C., under Grant No. NSC 96-2221-E-
005-095.
18
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List of figures
Fig. 1 Operational principle of the TM.
Fig. 2 A typical force versus displacement curve of the TM and the corresponding
configurations at displacement a , displacement b , and displacement c , shown in
the inlets.
Fig. 3 (a) A schematic of a quarter model. (b) Dimensions of the guide beam and the
shuttle mass.
Fig. 4 A mesh for the finite element model.
Fig. 5 (a) f-d curve and maximum stress versus displacement curve; (b) strain energy
curve.
Fig. 6 f-d curves based on the analytical model and the finite element model.
Fig. 7 Fabrication steps.
Fig. 8 A photo of a fabricated TM.
Fig. 9 (a) Experimental setup. (b) Dimensions of the probe. (c) A close-up view near
the tip of the probe.
Fig. 10 Snapshots for motion of the TM.
Fig. 11 f-d curves of the fabricated TM.
Fig. 12 Effects of the geometry parameters on the tristability of the TM.