Non-linearity in actuation of MEMS devices are essential in many applications. Previously, we presented the design and modeling of a NanoThermoMechanical AND logic gate, which is one of the building blocks of thermal computing (i.e., data processing based on heat instead of electricity). The gate is achieved through the coupling between near-field thermal radiation and MEMS thermal actuation. In the process, we developed two novel non-linear displacement mechanism of thermally actuated microstructure silicon V-shaped chevron beams which were required to achieve the desired thermal AND gate operation. In this work, we introduce the design, fabrication, and characterization of the two non-linear mechanisms using novel and ingenious chevron mechanisms consisting of spring-assisted reduction and cascading chevrons amplification for the reducing and the amplification mechanisms, respectively. The results show non-linearity can be achieved successfully through demonstrated and easy-to-manufacture chevron mechanisms. [2019-0233]

中文翻译：

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热驱动 MEMS Chevron 的非线性位移机制

MEMS 器件驱动的非线性在许多应用中是必不可少的。之前，我们介绍了 NanoThermoMechanical AND 逻辑门的设计和建模，它是热计算（即基于热而不是电的数据处理）的构建块之一。栅极是通过近场热辐射和 MEMS 热驱动之间的耦合实现的。在此过程中，我们开发了两种新颖的热驱动微结构硅 V 形 V 形梁的非线性位移机制，这是实现所需的热与门操作所需的。在这项工作中，我们介绍了设计、制造、以及使用新颖和巧妙的人字形机构对两个非线性机构进行表征，该机构包括弹簧辅助减速和级联人字形放大，分别用于减少和放大机构。结果表明，非线性可以通过经过验证且易于制造的 V 形机制成功实现。[2019-0233]