First Jumps of a Silicon Microrobot with an Energy Storing Substrate Spring

Abstract

We present the first-ever successful jumps of a microrobot fabricated in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process with an energy storing spring etched into the silicon substrate. The 0.08 gram silicon robot used its onboard electrostatic inchworm motor to store 8µJ of spring energy and vertically jump more than 3mm when powered and controlled with wire tethers. The robot's vertical jump height is more than 3X higher than what has been previously demonstrated by an SOI robot.