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CAMS IN MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS 513

(a)

(b)
FIGURE 15.5. Solid models of out-of-plane surface micromachined sub-
strate and floating revolute joints (a) as fabricated (b) after movement.

15.5.5 Compliant Mechanisms
At the microscale, an alternative to rigid-body jointed mechanisms is a compliant mecha-
nism that relies on elastic deformation of a structural continuum. Figure 15.3 illustrates
an example. As shown in this figure, assembly is not required to make compliant
mechanisms and therefore they are well suited for MEMS applications. In fact, compliant
structures such as beams and membranes are ubiquitously found in existing MEMS
devices. More sophisticated mechanical motion is also possible with compliant mecha-
nisms. Applications of this at the microscale are emerging in microoptomechanical