MEMS/NEMS Actuators: Design, Fabrication, and Applications
A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Miniaturized and Micro Actuators".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2027 | Viewed by 1
Editor
Interests: MEMS/NEMS/MOEMS; actuators; grippers; design; simulations; FEM; mathematical modeling; polymer; microtweezers; nanomaterials; nanocomposites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
There is a growing need for highly sensitive and cost-effective micro/nano-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) in biomedicine, chemistry, and robotics. Compared with conventional actuation technologies, which are often complex and bulky, MEMS/NEMS systems offer several significant advantages, including reduced power consumption, compact dimensions, lower manufacturing costs, rapid response times, enhanced design flexibility, and seamless integration with on-chip electronic circuitry. A critical aspect of MEMS development is the selection of an appropriate actuation mechanism, as actuator performance directly influences device functionality and efficiency. The most widely used MEMS/NEMS actuation methods include electrothermal, electrostatic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, pneumatic and shape memory alloy (SMA)-based approaches. By converting various forms of energy into precise linear or rotary motion, these actuators enable accurate positioning, force generation, and control, making them indispensable components of modern microsystems. By responding to control signals from sensors or controllers, actuators play a critical role in automated systems, ensuring precise movement, positioning, and force generation.
A major challenge remains the development of new structural materials capable of large displacement and fast response at low voltage, together with compatible fabrication techniques, design optimization and integration in MEMS/NEMS systems. The realization of actuators with out-of-plane motion is still an exciting task in the domain of micro/nano-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS/ NEMS). We invite research papers and reviews that focus on tethered or untethered actuators used for devices with applications in manipulation, fabrication, or characterization of different structural materials used. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to, modeling and simulation, design, fabrication, as well as characterization at small scales and experiments.
This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to actuators used for MEMS/NEMS systems and applications. We consider various contributions addressing different applications such as bio-medicine, micro-robotics, grippers actuation, assembling for the positioning and manipulation of micro-elements (like mirrors, lenses or bio-elements), electronics for switches or RF applications and mirrors.
Dr. Rodica Voicu
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- actuator
- MEMS actuator
- NEMS actuator
- design
- simulation
- optimization
- electrostatic actuator
- electrothermal actuator
- bio-inspired actuator
- piezoelectric actuator
- electromagnetic actuator
- SMA actuator
- pneumatic actuator
- optical actuator
- non-conventional actuator
- modeling
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