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Abstract
The
modeling
of
the
microelectromechanical cantilever is governed by the
Naviers equation for elasticity and the Maxwells
equation for electrostatic. The computational analysis
comprised of the electrostatic analysis and the
mechanical analysis [1]. The electric field is derived
from the potential difference between the cantilever
and the ground (reference plate). The surface force due
to the potential difference is then fed to the mechanical
analysis module to compute the deformation of the
micromechanical structure. The analysis is done
iteratively until an equilibrium state is reached. The
deformation of the micromechanical structure as gives
rise to the redistribution of the electric charges on the
surface of the structure, hence a change in the electric
field. Deformation of the microelectromechanical
structure as well as the redistribution of the electric
charges requires a re-meshing of the domains after
each iterative step. The proposed model adopts an
uncoupled quasi-static approach together with a
moving mesh algorithm. The model is used to
simulate the reaction of the cantilever due to the
change in the electric field.
Keywords: microelectromechanical, quasi-static model,
cantilever, electrostatic
2. Mathematical Model
A schematic setup for the elastic-electrostatic
cantilever system is as shown in Figure 1.
1. Introduction
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are
micrometer size electromechanical devices that are
fabricated through processes that are based on upon
the integrated-circuit technology. The operation of
MEMS transducers and actuators relies on the
electrical and mechanical properties of the
semiconductor materials of which the system is built
on.
The main actuating and sensing properties used in
MEMS
is
electrostatic,
piezoelectricity,
piezoresistivity, thermal, electromagnetism and optics.
Electrostatic actuation and sensing is one of the most
widely applied, due to structural simplicity, the
1-4244-1435-0/07/$25.002007 IEEE
B
E
G
B
G
=V
=0
E =
(2)
( ) = 0
(3)
1
2
u =0
F
u i
= fE
n
(1)
ij = Ei E j ij (E k E k )
(4)
f E = n dS
(5)
2 u + ( + )( u ) + f = 0
(7)
K e = 0
= B e e
(10)
= q Te
(11)
f
e
(6)
(9)
2u
2 = 2 u + ( + )( u ) + f
t
(8)
e
E
k e q T f Ee = 0
(12)
{q } = {q }+ {u}
n +1
(13)
4. Case Study
Figure 3 shows the geometry and meshing of the
cantilever in GMSH. The cantilever is 100m in
length, with a thickness ranging from 3m to 7m and
width of 10m. The cantilever is made of epoxy with
Youngs Modulus of 1.44GPa and Poissons ratio of
0.38 [5].
FEA studies the response of the cantilever to
different potential difference. Initial gap is 4m and
was subjected to potential difference with
incrementing step size of 5V.
The simulation result from the FEA, as shown in
Figure 4 .
The displacement versus potential difference
curve is as shown in Figure 5. The curve bears a profile
5. Summary
A quasi-static model was used to study the
response of a cantilever to various applied potential
difference and the displacement versus applied
potential difference curve, as well as the deformation
curve was found to be similar to the curve obtained by
various published models [6][7][8]. Moreover, the
time taken for the FEA is in the excess of hundreds
seconds as opposed to the hours required by traditional
FEA. Further test is currently in progress to estimate
the time saving factor.
This model may be used for designers of
electrostatic-elastic based MEMS devices to study the
response of different structural and property
combinations of cantilever to applied potential
difference. The model may be adapted to different
mechanical structure such as fixed-fixed beam and
circular membrane. The proposed method is sufficient
to provide a first estimate for the response to a design;
however it should not be viewed as a replacement of
the existing traditional methods for MEMS design and
prototyping.
References
[1] G.Li and N. R. Aluru, A Lagrangian Approach
for Electrostatic Analysis of Deformable
Conductors, Journal of Microelectromechanical
Systems, vol. 11, no. 3, pp.245-254, 2002
[2] Marqu`es, A.F., Castello, Shkel, A.M. July 2005.
Modeling the electrostatic actuation of MEMS.
State of the art 2005.
[3] J. A. Pelesko and D. H. Bernstein, Modeling
MEMS and NEMS, Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2003.