Abstract:The field electron emission effect is an important factor that limits the reliability of micro and nano opto-electro-mechanical devices. To study the field electron emission effect of MEMS electrostatic actuator, two different actuators including repulsive actuator and parallel-plate actuator, are designed and fabricated. Through experimental measurement, the relationship between leakage current and voltage of electrodes satisfies the FN formula, and the field electron emission effect of electrostatic repulsive actuators is firstly found. The effective emitting area and field enhancement factor are computed based on the measurement results of the two actuators. Due to the structure characteristic, the parallel-plate actuator has larger notional emitting area and smaller field enhancement factor than repulsive actuator.