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The design and fabrication of a silicon-processed microgripper used in biomedical and microtelerobotic applications is discussed. The gripper, which features an SiO2 masking layer, is produced through the low-pressure-chemical-vapor deposition of a two micrometer thick phosphosilicate glass layer. Laboratory experiments have validated the capability of this microgripper for the high-precision seizing of microscopic objects.

The reversible switching of high-speed air-liquid two-phase flow systems by electrically modifying surface energy of microchannels is demonstrated. The actuation method introduces a novel mechanism that takes advantage of two-phase flow dynamics in combination with the engineering of surface chemistry.