Patent ID: 7043910

Claim:
An asymmetric MEMS thermal actuator device comprising: a base portion; and an actuator element connected to said base portion by a flexure portion, said actuator element comprising a first arm and a second arm extending alongside said first arm and being spaced therefrom, said first and second arms lying in a substantially common plane, and said first and second arms each having a proximal end and a distal end, said first and second arms being electrically interconnected at said distal end, and said second arm being wider than said first arm so that said actuator element deflects about said flexure element portion in said common plane due to differential heating in said first and second arms when an electrical current is passed through said first and second arms from the proximal end of one of said arms to the proximal end of the other of said arms; and wherein a recess facing said first arm is provided in said second arm so as to increase the spacing of said second arm from said first arm in said recess.