Patent ID: 7921645

Claim:
A thermal actuator for micro mechanical or micro electro-mechanical devices, the actuator comprising: a supporting substrate having an anchor block extending therefrom, the anchor block including a heating circuit; an actuator extension portion; a first group of at least two elongate corrugated arms attached at a first end thereof to the heating circuit and at a second end to the extension portion, the at least two elongate corrugated arms of the first group all being in a first horizontal plane, and arranged for conductive heating via the heating circuit; and a second group of at least two elongate corrugated arms attached at a first end to the anchor block and at a second end to the extension portion, the at least two elongate corrugated arms of the second group all being in a second horizontal plane different from the first horizontal plane, and electrically insulated from the heating circuit, wherein a first edge of the at least two elongate corrugated arms of the first group and a first edge of the at least two elongate corrugated arms of the second group are in a common horizontal plane between the first and second horizontal planes.