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Modeling and Simulation of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) What Is MEMS?

Modeling and simulation is important for MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) due to their small size which makes direct experimentation difficult. Simulation allows designers to study a MEMS component's behavior under different conditions to reduce costs and improve design efficiency. Some challenges include coupling multiple governing physics equations, defining complex geometries, and modeling moving boundaries. The modeling process involves describing the physical problem, formulating governing equations, approximating solutions, and verifying results through an iterative loop. Common simulation techniques are finite difference time domain, multiresolution time domain, and finite element analysis. Popular tools include COMSOL, SPICE, SUGAR, IntelliSuite, and MEMS+.

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Yob Ynnos
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38 views2 pages

Modeling and Simulation of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) What Is MEMS?

Modeling and simulation is important for MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) due to their small size which makes direct experimentation difficult. Simulation allows designers to study a MEMS component's behavior under different conditions to reduce costs and improve design efficiency. Some challenges include coupling multiple governing physics equations, defining complex geometries, and modeling moving boundaries. The modeling process involves describing the physical problem, formulating governing equations, approximating solutions, and verifying results through an iterative loop. Common simulation techniques are finite difference time domain, multiresolution time domain, and finite element analysis. Popular tools include COMSOL, SPICE, SUGAR, IntelliSuite, and MEMS+.

Uploaded by

Yob Ynnos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Modeling and Simulation of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

I. What is MEMS?
- emerging field of process technology that is used to create very tiny (in the order of
10-6 to 10-3) integrated devices or systems that combine mechanical and electrical
components
- utilizes miniaturization of multiple components and microelectronics to bring forth
a working compact device
- while integrated circuits exploit the electrical properties of silicon, MEMS takes
advantage of either silicon’s mechanical or electrical properties or both

II. Why model and simulate MEMS?


- direct observation/experimentation on the device component after fabrication is
practically restricted by MEMS’s inherent size which could be erroneous
- simulation significantly reduces the time required to identify the response of a
MEMS component about a particular stimuli (force, heat flow, electricity, etc.)
- under different experimental conditions and levels of parameters, studying the
behavior of the design before prototyping reduces the cost of production
- modeling and simulation can render fast design cycle that allows extensive scoping
for more and accurate decision making
- also enable designers and system developers to see and further investigate systems
behavior which could have not been discovered otherwise

III. Some challenges in modeling and simulation


Physical principles
- coupling (either strongly or weakly) of governing equations for every physical
phenomenon experienced by the model (e.g. stresses and deformations, joule
heating, heat and mass transfer) that is hard to put into a united perspective
Geometrical structure
- lack of proper definition or construction of the system geometry poses problem on
the accurate modeling of micro-systems; due to different deformations and
irregularities during MEMS operation
Large aspect ratio
- Some MEMS have very small dimension in one direction (thickness) compared to
relatively large dimension (length) in other direction, thus leading to large aspect
ratio that leads to large number of computation cells causing long computation time
Geometry change due to moving parts/boundaries
- MEMS components that contain moving parts often lead to moving boundary
conditions. Traditional frequency domain simulators are not adequate to handle
these features, due to many approximations to simplify modeling

IV. Steps in modeling and simulation Commented [SBPAJ1]: wala pang discussion nito sa
a. Step 1: Description of the Physical Problem: paper pero kailangan to.

b. Step 2: formulation of governing equations: Commented [GACG2R1]: Is this the same as what I put
sa processes?
c. Step 3: approximation of governing equations:
d. Step 4: Method(s) of solution:
Commented [GACG3R1]:
e. Step 5: Solution of the governing equation(s):
f. Step 6: Verification of Results:
g. Step 7: Use model for exploration and design optimization:
Process will loop from step 6 to step 2 if the results are not verified. This loop will go
on until the results are verified.

V. Modeling and simulation techniques


1. Finite-Difference Time Domain (FDTD)
- The method of FDTD utilizes approximation of central difference to define both the
space and time derivatives.

- Application of this method in smaller scale like MEMS requires a modification such
that the cell size used should be smaller than or equal to the part of the system that
is smallest.

2. Multiresolution Time Domain (MRTD)


- The MRTD method is advantageous over the previous method in that it provides
functions with adaptive resolution.
- Higher resolution functions can be added and subtracted during the actual
simulation.
- Another feature is the gridding capability in both time, and space and time.

3. Finite Element Technique


- The finite element technique or method (FEM) is a numerical method aimed at
establishing approximate solutions for partial differential and integral equations.
- The main goal of finite element analysis (FEA) is to divide the system of interest
into homogeneous elements with corners termed as nodes which define the
boundaries of the region being analyzed.

VI. Modeling and simulation tools


- COMSOL
o The MEMS module enables its users to input their own equations to the
simulations as well as simulate experiments at nano and microscale.
- SPICE
o Works on the behavioral side which is able to convert circuits to Fortran
code.
- SUGAR
o SPICE module which enables the use of nodal analysis, thermal expansion,
beam and gap elements.
- IntelliSuite
o Used for thermo-electro mechanical and full wave electromagnetic analysis.
- MEMS +
o Used for the physical side where frequency response as well as motion
sensors and gyroscopes are used.

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