Equivalent RF Circuit Model on Fluid MEMS Capacitors

Theoretical and graphical analysis of pull-in-voltage and figure of merit for a fixed-fixed capacitive Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) switch is presented in this paper. MEMS switch consists of a thin electrode called bridge suspended over a central line and both ends of the bridge are fixed at the ground planes of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) structure. A thin layer of dielectric material is deposited between the bridge and centre conductor to avoid stiction and provide low impedance path between the electrodes. When an actuation voltage is applied between the electrodes, the metal bridge acquires pull in effect as it crosses one third of distance between them. In this study, we describe behavior of pull-in voltage and figure of merit (or capacitance ratio) of capacitive MEMS switch for five different dielectric materials. The effects of dielectric thicknesses are also considered to calculate the values of pull-in-voltage and capacitance ratio. This work shows that a reduced pull-in-voltage with increase in capacitance ratio can be achieved by using dielectric material of high dielectric constant above the central line of CPW.

Design, development, fabrication and evaluation of the dynamics of a graphene based underwater acoustic vector sensor: A simulation and experimental study

A new autostabilization mechanism in the Bennet doubler circuit-based electrostatic vibrational energy harvester

In this paper, rectification methods for micro-energy harvesting systems are proposed and estimated. We present introduce two methods. The first is a mechanical rectification. The second is semiconducting rectification which is fabricated through MEMS technology. Vibration-driven micro-energy harvesting by micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology is needed because the electrical power consumption of our society is increasing. But most of the vibration-driven generators supply alternating-current and intermittent electro energy. For using, it is necessary to construct the micro energy system supplying direct current. Therefore, we present the micro energy system that is composed of vibration-driven micro-energy harvesting, rectification and energy storage. In particular, we consider the rectification in this paper. In designing, we consider that vibration-driven micro-energy harvestings are developed through MEMS technology. Compatibility between semiconductor process and MEMS process is hard to achieve in materials, temperature, contamination and so on.

The water condensation is important for wide range of industrial systems such as condensers and heat exchangers of steam power plants and refrigerators. The condensation generally has two patterns; filmwise condensation (FWC) and drop-wise condensation (DWC). DWC has one-tenth higher heat transfer coefficient than that of FWC. It has been pointed out by many investigators that DWC occurs on the hydrophobic surface and FWC occurs on hydrophilic surface. However, the durability of those hydrophobic effects was not clear enough. In order to maintain a sufficiently long DWC, it is important to understand the effect of the surface property and structure on the condensation surface in more detail. The recent advancement of MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) technology enables us to change the physical nature the surface in the micro scale. It is expected that the hydrophobic surface by the MEMS technology may kept DWC for a longer time. In the present paper, we experimentally investigate the effects of thin metal film and micro structured surface on condensation pattern. Especially, our condensation experiments were performed with the micro structured surfaces by using etching and the metal thin film surfaces by sputtering for approximately 24 hours. Silicon (Si) wafer was used as a basic surface. For the metal thin films surface, we used sputtered Lead (Pb) and Titanium (Ti) on Si surface. For the micro structured surfaces, micro-structured grid was etched on Si surface with several conditions. In order to obtain the relation between the condensation pattern and surface condition, the surface conditions were measured by laser micro-scope, contact angle meter and atomic force microscope (AFM). For the metal thin films surface, condensation patterns on thin Pb film surface showed DWC. Meanwhile, condensation patterns on thin Ti surfaces showed FWC. From our results, the adsorption forces decreased with increasing contact angle on DWC for Pb. On the other hand, the adsorption forces increased with decreasing contact angle on FWC for Ti. For the micro structured surfaces, condensation pattern was FWC and contact angle decreased in our experimental results. This is because that the condensed water is accumulated in the groove on the micro structure surface.

Variable capacitors have a broad usage in radio frequency (RF) circuits. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology can provide variable capacitors with high quality factor and wide tuning range characteristics. One of the design goals for MEMS varactors has been linear capacitance- voltage (C-V) characteristics. To design a linear C-V varactor, a shaped-finger comb-drive actuator is proposed in this paper. The shaped-finger design method, originally developed to obtain linear wavelength-voltage relationships in a tunable optical filter, is modified in this work for a linear C-V varactor, which involves development of a new governing equation. Moreover, conformal mapping is employed in calculation of capacitances, making the whole design process almost all-analytical with the minimum usage of numerical analysis methods. Variable capacitors with the shaped-finger design show linearity factor (LF)—defined as the maximum deviation from the perfect linear relationship—as low as 0.4%, tremendously improved from that of the conventional constant-finger-gap devices (LF: 49.9%). The characteristics of the designed variable capacitor are further investigated through 3-D numerical analysis, and show LF better than 11.5% for the finger thickness in the range between 1 and 10 micrometers. Versatility of the design method is further demonstrated by design of a varactor with linear resonant frequency-voltage (f-V) characteristics for voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) applications. The developed analytical design method with shaped fingers can find a wide range of applications where comb-drive actuators are used.

This paper proposes a series of optimized scalable contact-capacitive radio frequency micro- electro-mechanical systems (RF MEMS) switches for millimeter wave applications. Due to the contact-capacitive topology, the ON-state and OFF-state of the switch can be designed separately to obtain smaller <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{ON}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and larger <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{OFF}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, which results in high capacitance ratio (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{r}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). The <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{ON}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is defined by capacitance of the contacts, and it is optimized for low insertion loss (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$IL_{ON}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). The <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{OFF}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is defined by the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor, and it is designed for working band and scalable performance. The measurements of the fabricated devices show acceptable agreements with design and simulation. The optimized switches perform well with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$IL_{ON}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> better than 1.5dB and capacitive ratio about 124. The switches follow scaling rules from 20GHz to 110GHz. Linearity (IIP3) of the switches are tested to be higher than 60dBm, and calculated to be higher than 80dBm. Performances of the switch can be further improved and optimized in the future study.

Salzberg, Arnold D MD; Bloom, Matthew B MD; Mourlas, Nicolas J PhD; Krummel, Thomas M MD Author Information

In this paper, a linear lumped-element equivalent circuit model (ECM) for ultrasonic laterally transduced electrostatic bulk-mode air-coupled resonant micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) is described. A single-crystal silicon (SCS) square plate with T-shaped tethers is considered as the geometry of interest with a one-sided electrostatic actuation. This type of sensor can be used for sensitive mass sensing of airborne particles and possesses a large active surface with in-plane vibration modes in the ultrasonic frequency range. Firstly, the eigensolutions and eigenvectors of the problem are obtained using analytical equations and compared with finite-element modeling (FEM) solutions. Secondly, using modal analysis, the number of degrees of freedom is reduced and individual solutions are provided for each vibration mode, leading to various effective masses, stiffnesses and dampings. The first order Taylor expansion of both the electrical current equation and the electrostatic force applied on the resonator allows one to obtain expressions for the additional stiffness and the electro-mechanical transformation coefficient linked to the membrane actuation. Based on theses results, single-input single output (SISO) equivalent circuits are established using electro-mechanical and Butterworth-Van Dyke (BVD) approaches. Electrical admittance simulations resulting from different in-plane vibration modes are proven to be in excellent agreement with FEM simulations. Finally, a numerical mass sensing application is described to evaluate the relevance of both the model and the resonator design to act as a microbalance. The proposed model can be used to design, predict, analyze and optimize the behavior of highly sensitive air-coupled ultrasonic bulk-mode SCS MEMS for various physical applications.

Thin film SMA (Shape memory alloy) is a useful method for MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) actuator. This is because the thin film has an improved frequency response compared to bulk SMA, high work density, and produces large strain. A novel two-way thin film NiTi (Nickel Titanium) shape memory alloy actuator is presented in this paper. Thin film shape memory alloy is sputter-deposited onto a silicon wafer in an ultra high vacuum system. Transformation temperatures of the deposited NiTi film are measured by residual stress measurement at temperatures from 25 ° C to 120 ° C. Test results show that the Mf (Martensite Finish Temperature) is around 60 ° C and Af (Austenite Finish Temperature) is around 110 ° C. A free standing NiTi membrane (10 mm × 10mm and 3 μm thick) is fabricated using MEMS technology. We found that a mixture of HF (Hydro Fluidic Acid), HNO3 (Nitric Acid) and DI (Deionized) water with thick photo resist mask works best for the fabrication process. The membrane is hot-shaped in different shapes such as dome shape, pyramidal shape, and cylindrical shape. Results indicate that when the temperature of the NiTi film exceeds Af, the NiTi membrane transforms into the trained hot-shape. When the temperature cools down to room temperature, the membrane returns to the initial flat shape.

A double-layer 90° corrugated terahertz (THz) horn antenna based on MEMS (Micro-electromechanical System) technology is proposed. This antenna is designed at the frequency range of 400GHz–500GHz. Through adding expansion aperture and chokes to the traditional structure, good antenna performance can be obtained. From the simulated result it shows a impedance bandwidth of 400–500GHz with input return loss less than 10dB. The radiation pattern shows good symmetric beamwidth and very low cross-polarization. The peak gain varies from 13.9dBi to 16.1dBi within the frequency band 400GHz–500GHz. Dry etching MEMS technology is suitable for design of this type of antenna.

Design and Simulation of RF MEMS Switch for X-band Applications

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has matured to the point where practical biological and chemical applications are possible. One particularly active research area is in the development of lab-on-a-chip type systems. In order to create successful lab-on-a-chip and other microfluidic systems, it is necessary to have the capability of controlling and directing fluid flow. Such functionality can be found on the front end of a microfluidic system and is known as a fluid delivery or dosing subsystem. For a MEMS micro fluid dosing system to be realized, several components are necessary. The essential components include a fluid actuator, a fluidic control device, and micro plumbing. A prototype fluid delivery system is demonstrated here using a micropump as the fluid actuator, a thermal flow sensor as the fluidic control device, and micromachined couplers as plumbing. The technology to build these components has been developed and each of these components have been fabricated and tested. A prototype constructed of discrete components has also been demonstrated. A truly integrated, channel-based fluid dosing system can be achieved through device scaling.

A multi-try counter-meshing gears stronglink based on micro electromechanical system (MEMS) technology is introduced, including research, design, couple and fabrication of unique signal (UQS) for some specified fields of information security. The stronglink consists of two groups of metal counter-meshing gears, two pawl/ratchet mechanisms, two driving micromotors and two resetting micromotors. The resetting micromotors make counter-meshing gears withdraw by raising pawls so that the interfered counter-meshing gears will be relieved. The energy-coupling element is a photoelectric sensor with a circular notched plate. The counter-meshing mechanism is fabricated using the ultraviolet-lithographie, galvanoformung and abformung (UV-LiGA) process and a precision mechanical technique. The stronglink can be tried several times if the correct resetting code is known.

All spacecraft rely on radiative surfaces to dissipate waste heat. These radiators have special coatings that are intended to optimize performance under the expected heat load and thermal sink environment. Typically, such radiators will have a low absorptivity and a high infrared-red emissivity. Given the dynamics of the heat loads and thermal environment it is often a challenge to properly size the radiator. In addition, for the same reasons, it is often necessary to have some means of regulating the heat rejection rate of the radiators in order to achieve proper thermal balance. The concept of using a specialized thermal control coating which can passively or actively adjust its emissivity in response to such load/environmental sink variations is a very attractive solution to these design concerns. Such a system would allow intelligent control of the rate of heat loss from a radiator. Variable emissivity coatings offer an exciting alternative that is uniquely suitable for micro and nano spacecraft applications. This permits adaptive or “smart” thermal control of spacecraft by varying effective emissivity of surfaces in response to either a passive actuator (e.g., a bi-metallic device) or through active control from a small bias voltage signal. In essence the variable emittance surface would be an “electronic louver.” It appears possible to develop such “electronic louvers” through at least three different types of technologies: Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology, Electrochromic technology and Electrophoretic technology. This paper will concentrate on the first approach using both MEMS and Micromachining technology to demonstrate variable emissivity.