Papers – Page 18 – TechConnect Briefs

Optimal Design of an Electrostatic Zipper Actuator

Brenner M.P., Lang J.H., Li J., Slocum A.H., Harvard University, US

We describe a method for predicting the optimal design of an electrostatic zipper actuator. The shape of the zipping beam and the electrode are optimized to maximize the applied force at a given stroke, while [...]

Field-induced Dielectrophoresis and Phase Separation for Manipulating Particles in Microfluidics

Bennett D.J., Khusid B., James C.D., Galambos P.C., Okandan M., Jacqmin D., Kumar A., Qiu Z., Acrivos A., New Jersey Institute of Technology, US

We report observations of new many-body phenomena in the micro-scale behavior of a suspension subject to a high-gradient strong alternating current (ac) field and shear. Their origin is dielectrophoresis accompanied by the field-induced phase separation [...]

Static and Dynamic Optical Metrology of Micro-Mirror Thermal Deformation

Forest C.R., Reynolds-Brown P., Blum Spahn O., Harris J., Novak E., Wong C.C., Mani S., Peter F., Adams D., Sandia National Laboratories, US

A two-position micro-optical switch is being developed at Sandia National Laboratories. This MEMS device is shown in Figure 1 as a gear with a through-hole; the actuation mechanism is not shown. In the "on" position, [...]

Effective Modelling and Simulation of Over-Heated Actuators

Zubert M., Napieralska M., Napieralski A., Noullet J.L., Technical University of Lodz, PL

A mono-dimensional model of an over heated actuator is presented in this paper. The proposed distributed models are derived based on real physical phenomena described by multi-dimensional partial differential equations. The proposed model has been [...]

Computational Prototyping of an RF MEMS Switch using Chatoyant

Bails M., Martinez J.A., Levitan S.P., Avdeev I., Lovell M., Chiarulli D.M., University of Pittsburgh, US

In this paper we demonstrate the capabilities of our system-level CAD tool, Chatoyant, to model and simulate an RF MEMS switch. Chatoyant is a mixed signal, multi-domain CAD tool that can be used to design [...]

Simulation and Modeling of a Bridge-type Resonant Beam for a Coriolis True Mass Flow Sensor

Lee S., Wang X., Shin W., Xiao Z., Chin K.K., Farmer K.R., Microelectronics Research Center, New Jersey Institute of Technology, US

This paper presents a simulation of a bridge-type resonating beam connected to the tube loop structure of a Coriolis true mass flow sensor[1]. The resonant beam technique, which is comparable to optical[2], piezoresistive[3], and capacitive[4] [...]

On the Air Damping of Micro-Resonators in the Free-Molecular Region

Hutcherson S., Ye W., Georgia Institute of Technology, US

Predicting air damping on micromachined mechanical resonators is crucial in the design of high-performance filters used in wireless communication systems. In the past, most of the work focused on devices with minimum feature size on [...]

Identification of Anisoelasticity and Nonproportional Damping in MEMS Gyroscopes

Phani A.S., Seshia A.A., University of Cambridge, UK

A novel approach to identify nonproportional damping and structural anisoelasticities in vibratory MEMS gyroscopes is proposed in this paper. The proposed identification method is based on measured vibration data in the form of frequency response [...]

Numerical Modeling of a Piezoelectric Micropump

Schlipf R., Haghighi K., Lange R., Purdue University, US

An effective description and an accurate understanding of any pumping mechanism is critical, especially of the micro scale. With the existence of a comprehensive and adaptable model, accurate preproduction predictions of performance are realized. Optimal [...]

Coupling Of Resonant Modes In Micromechanical Vibratory Rate Gyroscopes

Phani A.S., Seshia A.A., Palaniapan M., Howe R.T., Yasaitis J., University of Cambridge, UK

Analytical models are presented to describe the resonant modal coupling behaviour of z-axis micromechanical vibratory rate gyroscopes fabricated in an integrated polysilicon surface micromachining process. The models are then applied to predict the extent of [...]