Towards Bridging a Gap between Simulation and Experiment

We present a pioneering effort into bridging a gap between simulation and experiment. We are creating an online tool called SugarX (version 0.1) that extracts mechanical properties from MEMS through electronic probing, and imports the properties into a corresponding computer model in attempts to investigate the performance of simulation against experiment. SugarX is an integrated system consisting of our Sugar-based modeling and simulation engine, our micro electro metrology (EMM) test bed, and Labview which couples the real and simulated domains. SugarX is available online at nanoHUB.org for remote experimental control and simulation. A goal with SugarX is to have both the real device and computer model share the same electromechanical properties. It is expected that EMM will be able to extract more than three dozen mechanical properties through electronic probing. In this initial version of SugarX, the user is able to automatically extract the displacement, comb drive force, and stiffness of the real device, and then export these properties into the model. The user is then able to control applied voltages of the real and simulated devices simultaneously. What else is interesting is that users are able to investigate Casimir and van der Waals forces within SugarX in real-time over the web.