Fabrication of zipping electrostatic actuators incorporating inkjet-printed layers

Self‐sensing estimator for micromachined electrostatic actuators and parameters’ optimisation

Micro & Nano Letters ◽

10.1049/mnl.2016.0128 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 528-531 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chong Li ◽

Robert N. Dean ◽

George T. Flowers

Keyword(s):

Electrostatic Actuators

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Coulomb-actuated microbeams revisited: experimental and numerical modal decomposition of the saddle-node bifurcation

Microsystems & Nanoengineering ◽

10.1038/s41378-021-00265-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anton Melnikov ◽

Hermann A. G. Schenk ◽

Jorge M. Monsalve ◽

Franziska Wall ◽

Michael Stolz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Finite Element ◽

Microelectromechanical Systems ◽

Dynamic Range ◽

Dynamic Performance ◽

Major Step ◽

Element Analysis ◽

Electrostatic Actuators ◽

Voltage Range ◽

Drive Voltage ◽

Depth Analysis

AbstractElectrostatic micromechanical actuators have numerous applications in science and technology. In many applications, they are operated in a narrow frequency range close to resonance and at a drive voltage of low variation. Recently, new applications, such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microspeakers (µSpeakers), have emerged that require operation over a wide frequency and dynamic range. Simulating the dynamic performance under such circumstances is still highly cumbersome. State-of-the-art finite element analysis struggles with pull-in instability and does not deliver the necessary information about unstable equilibrium states accordingly. Convincing lumped-parameter models amenable to direct physical interpretation are missing. This inhibits the indispensable in-depth analysis of the dynamic stability of such systems. In this paper, we take a major step towards mending the situation. By combining the finite element method (FEM) with an arc-length solver, we obtain the full bifurcation diagram for electrostatic actuators based on prismatic Euler-Bernoulli beams. A subsequent modal analysis then shows that within very narrow error margins, it is exclusively the lowest Euler-Bernoulli eigenmode that dominates the beam physics over the entire relevant drive voltage range. An experiment directly recording the deflection profile of a MEMS microbeam is performed and confirms the numerical findings with astonishing precision. This enables modeling the system using a single spatial degree of freedom.

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