Dynamic analysis of micro-electro-mechanical systems

The subject of this paper is dynamic analysis of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). MEMS are integrated, movable microstructures with electronics, in the 0.1-1000 mu m size range. Dynamic analysis: of MEMS is complicated by the fact that there are two physical domains, electrical and mechanical, with nonlinear coupling between them. Numerical simulation of the dynamics of MEMS is carried out by a hybrid BEM/FEM (Boundary Element and Finite Element Method) approach, FEM for the structure and BEM for electrostatic analysis. Several numerical techniques are proposed for time-integration in order to obtain the non-linear dynamic response. These techniques are tested on a 'generic' MEMS device; a microtweezer. The Modified Newmark Method is determined to be the best approach for simulation. Various interesting non-linear phenomena are observed from the numerical simulations. Some of these non-linearities have also been observed in previous experiments with MEMS. A simple physical analogue to the microtweezer is proposed. Study of this model helps one understand some of the complex non-linear responses of the microtweezer.