MEMS – Page 29 – TechConnect Briefs

Modeling and Design of a Micromechanical Phase-Shifting Gate Optical Modulator

Que L., Witjaksono G., Gianchandani Y.B., University of Wisconsin, US

This paper reports the modeling and design of a micromechanical optical modulator with a phase-shifting gate that utilizes optical interference effects to modulate light. The gate is opened or closed by microactuators integrated on the [...]

The Effect of Thermal Boundary Conditions and Scaling on Electro-Thermal-Compliant Micro Devices

Mankame N., Ananthasuresh G.K., University of Pennsylvania, US

Electro-thermal micro actuators that operate by virtue of constrained thermal expansion induced by Joule heating, have recently received considerable attention. We use electro-thermal actuation to create monolithic compliant devices with embedded actuation in which the [...]

Reduced-Order Models of Stress-Stiffened MEMS Structures

Varghese M., Rabinovich V.L., Senturia S.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US

We present a process for generating reduced-order models for stress-stiffened MEMS structures. The models are created using the established CHURN process, which uses non-linear, analytic, energy functions to describe the state of each conservative quasi-static [...]

Mathematical Analysis of Electrostatically Actuated MEMS Devices

Bernstein D., Guidotti P., Pelesko J.A., California Institute of Technology, US

We perform a rigorous mathematical analysis of a simple membrane based model of an electrostatiacallyh actuated MEMS device. Using both analytical and numerical techniques, we prove the existence of a fold in the solution space [...]

Nonlinear Analysis of Electrostatic Actuation in MEMS with Arbitrary Geometry

Taschini S., Baltes H., Korvink J.G., ETH-Hoenggerberg, CH

We present an explicit formulation for the Jacobian (or tan-gent) matrix of the discretized non-linear model for a cou-pled electromechanical system. The Jacobian matrix, consisting of the derivatives of the residual, is needed in Newton-Raphson-based [...]

A Novel Approach for Determining Pull-In Voltages in Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Long D.S., Shannon M.A., Aluru N.R., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US

In this paper we introduce a novel method, based on the Lagrange Multiplier Method (LMM), for calculating pull-in voltages in MEMS. This method combines the finite-element with a displacement constraint and boundary element method. The [...]

The Atomic Limit of Finite Elements in the Simulation of Micro-Resonators

Rudd R.E., University of Oxford, UK

We describe developments in the coupling of length scales methodology which allows the simulation of the dynamic and temperature dependent behavior of sub-micron Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). This novel technique accurately models the behavior of the [...]

Calculation of the AC Electroquasistatic Sinusoidal Steady-State Coulomb Force on a Conductor Coated with a Lossy Dielectric

Osterberg P., Inan A., University of Portland, US

The ability to directly calculate the analytical closed-form electroquasistatic sinusoidal steady-state Coulomb force (or ac force) exerted on a conductor coated with a lossy dielectric in the presence of a second grounded conductor and excited [...]

Torsional Ratcheting Actuating System

Barnes S.M., Miller S.L., Rodgers M.S., Bitsie F., Sandia National Laboratories, US

A new type of surface micromachined ratcheting actuation system has been developed at the Microelectronics Development Laboratory at Sandia National Laboratories. The actuator uses a torsional electrostatic comb drive that is coupled to an external [...]

Topics in Finite-Element Modeling of Piezoelectric MEMS Devices

von Preissig F.J., Kim E.S., University of Hawaii at Manoa, US

Techniques for modeling thin-piezoelectric MEMS devices using existing finite-element packages are examined. The emphasis is on non-resonant sensors and actuators, but most results are applicable to resonant devices and large structures as well. Characteristic features [...]