EMT 490/3

MICROELECTROMECHANICAL
SYSTEMS (MEMS)

SEMESTER 1 2017/2018

Dr. Nurul Izza Mohd Nor

CHAPTER 4
Electrostatic Sensing and Actuation
 Outline

 Introduction
 Parallel-Plate Capacitor

 Applications of Parallel-Plate Capacitors

 Interdigitated Finger Capacitors

 Applications of Comb-Drive Devices

 Introduction
 Electrostatic sensing – If the distance & position
between two conductors change as a result of
applied stimulus, the capacitance value would be
changed.

 Electrostatic actuation - A voltage (or electric field)

applied across two parallel conductors, an
electrostatic force would develop between these
two objects.
 Introduction
 Major advantages of electrostatic sensing and actuation:
 Simplicity. Easy to implement. Only two conducting
surface, no special functional materials required.
 Low power. Relies on differential voltage rather
than current. Energy efficient for low frequency
applications, true under static conditions when no current is
involved.
 Fast response. High dynamic-response speed, as the transition
speed is governed by the charging and discharging time
constants that are typically small for good conductors.
Example: Switching time for Digital micromirror display
(DMD) by Texas Instrument= 21µs.
 Introduction
 Disadvantages of electrostatic sensing and actuation:

1. High voltage required for static actuator operation.

 electronic complexity issue
 material compatibility issue
 Introduction
 Two major configurations:
 Parallel-plate capacitor (out of plane)

 Interdigitated finger (comb-drive) capacitor (in plane)

 Examples of Capacitive Electrode
Geometry
 Parallel-Plate Capacitor
 Comb Drive (Interdigitated

finger)Capacitor
 Parallel-Plate Capacitor
A parallel plate capacitor with an
overlapping area of A and a spacing
of d.

A relative electrical permittivity or the dielectric constant of the media between the two
plates is denoted as εr. The permittivity of media is ε= εr ε0. ε0 is the permittivity of vacuum
(ε0= 8.85x10-12 F/m).

C=capacitance,
Gauss’s law
Capacitance of Q=stored charge,
parallel plate V=electrostatic potential,
capacitor U=electric energy stored,
E= magnitude of electric field
 Parallel-Plate Capacitor
 Capacitor can be used as an actuator to generate force or displacement.
 As a differential voltage is applied to a pair of electrode plates, with one firmly
anchored and another one suspended by a mechanical spring  electrostatic
attraction force will develop.

 The expression of magnitude of force is given as:

x=dimensional variable of interest

 The magnitude of force is given as:

 r x is replaced by d
 Example 1:Calculating Capacitance
Value
 Question:
Consider an air-gap capacitor made with two fixed parallel planar plates. At
rest (zero bias), the distance between two parallel plates is d=100µm, and the
areas of plates are A=400x 400µm2. The media between the two plates is
air. The biasing voltage between these two plates is V=5Volts. Calculate the
numerical value of the capacitance and the magnitude of the attractive force
(F). What is the capacitance value if half of the area is filled with water (as
the plate media)?
Example 1:Calculating Capacitance
Value continued…
Solution:
 To find the capacitance value, we use
𝜀𝐴 8.854×10−12 𝐹/𝑚×400𝜇𝑚×400𝜇𝑚
𝐶= = = 14.17x10-15 F
𝑑 100𝜇𝑚

 The force can be calculated using

𝜕𝐸 1 𝐶𝑉 2
𝐹= 𝜕𝑑
= 2 𝑑
= 1.77x10-9 N

 The capacitance associated with the half with water media is

400𝜇𝑚×400𝜇𝑚
𝜀𝐴/2 76.6×8.854×10−12 𝐹/𝑚×
𝐶𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝑑
= 100𝜇𝑚
2
= 542.57x10-15 F

 The capacitance of the half with air media is

𝐶𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 7.08x10-15F
 The total capacitance is
𝐶 = 𝐶𝑎𝑖𝑟 + 𝐶𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 549.6x10-15F
 Equilibrium Position of Electrostatic
Actuator Under Bias
 An important design aspect for electrostatic sensors
and actuators is to

determine the amount

of static displacement
under a certain biased
voltage
 Equilibrium Position of Electrostatic
Actuator Under Bias

At starting
position

Electrical
spring constant

At equilibrium position, electrostatic force given as

 Equilibrium Position of Electrostatic
Actuator Under Bias
Mechanical force has an equal magnitude with Felectrical but in opposite direction
(static position).

Equating the magnitudes of Fmechanical and Felectrical, at x we obtain

𝐹𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐹𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝐶 𝑥 𝑉2
−𝑥 = = =
𝐾𝑚 𝐾𝑚 2(𝑥0 + 𝑥)𝐾𝑚

The equilibrium distance between two capacitor plates can be calculated by

solving the quadratic equation above with respect to x.
Magnitude of Electric and Mechanical
Force as A Function of Plate Spacing
 The analysis of equilibrium position can be visualized as shown in figure below:

 Fmechanical changes linearly with the position for a fixed voltage V.

 Felectrical increases with x in a non-linear fashion.
 The horizontal point of the interception indicate the equilibrium position of the
movable plate.
Balance of Electrical and Mechanical
Force under Three Bias Voltage
The graphical method can be used
to track the equilibrium position as
the bias voltage is changed.

Balance of electrical and mechanical

forces under three bias voltages
Pull-in Effect of Parallel Plate Actuators

Pull-in voltage, Vp is the

bias voltage that invokes a
special condition where
the magnitude of electrical
force constant equal to the
mechanical force constant.

Pull-in condition occurs

when mechanical
contact force balance
the electrical force.

The electric force and mechanical force

balance at the pull-in voltage.
Pull-in Voltage
At the pull-in voltage,

Gradients of the two curves at the

intersection point are identical:
Electric force constant,

New expression of electric force

constant,

Solution for x under

equation |Ke|=|Km|

Pull-in voltage:
Example 2:Calculation of Equilibrium
Position
A parallel-plate capacitor is suspended by two fixed-guided cantilever beams,
each with length, width and thickness donate l, w and t respectively as shown in
figure. The material is polysilicon, with a Young’s Modulus of
120GPa.(l=400µm, w=10µm and t=1µm). The gap x0 between two plates is
2µm. The area of the plate is 400µmx400µm.
Calculate the amount of vertical
displacement when voltage of
0.4V is applied. Repeat the
calculation of displacement for
the voltage of 0.2V.
Example 2:Calculation of Equilibrium
Position continued…
 Step 1: Find out the force constant associated with the actuator.
Calculate force constant of one beam first using a model of a fixed-guided
beam. For each beam, the vertical displacement under applied force F is
𝐹𝑙 3
𝑑=
12𝐸𝐼

The force constant is therefore

𝐹 12𝐸𝐼 𝐸𝑤𝑡 3 120 × 109 × 10 × 10−6 × 1 × 10−6 3
𝐾𝑚 = = 3 = 3 = = 0.01875𝑁/𝑚
𝑑 𝑙 𝑙 400 × 10−6 3

Because the plate supported by two beams that are connected in parallel, the overall
force constant is the sum of two separate force constants, therefore
𝑲𝒎 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟑𝟕𝟓𝑵/𝒎
Example 2:Calculation of Equilibrium
Position continued…
 Step 2: Find out the pull-in voltage
In order to determine the equilibrium position, we must find the pull in voltage
first. If the applied voltage is greater than the pull in voltage, the two plates
would snap together. First, find the static capacitance value C0,
8.854 × 10−12 (𝐹 𝑚) × 400 × 10−6 2
𝐶0 = = 7.083 × 10−13 𝐹
2 × 10−6

The pull-in voltage is therefore

2𝑥0 𝑘𝑚 2 × 2 × 10−6 0.0375
𝑉𝑝 = = = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟓𝐕
3 1.5𝐶0 3 1.5 × 7.083 × 10−13

Thus when the applied voltage is 0.4V, the plate has already reached pull in state and
the spacing between the two electrodes is zero.
Example 2:Calculation of Equilibrium
Position continued…
 Step 3: Repeat the calculation for applied voltage of 0.2V.
If the applied voltage is 0.2V, the pull in condition is not reached. To find the
vertical equilibrium positions, we use
−2𝑘𝑚 𝑥 𝑥 + 𝑥0 2 −2𝑘𝑚 𝑥 𝑥 + 𝑥0
𝑉2 = =
𝜀𝐴 𝐶

We can rewrite with the respect to the value of x,

2 𝜀𝐴
𝑉
𝑥 3 + 2𝑥0 𝑥 2 + 𝑥02 𝑥 + =0
2𝑘𝑚
𝑥 3 + 4 × 10−6 + 4 × 10−12 𝑥 + 7.552 × 10−9 = 0

The solution to this equation can be found both numerically and analytically. The
analytical solution of

𝑥 3 + 𝑎𝑥 3 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0
Example 2:Calculation of Equilibrium
Position continued…
Can be found by first substituting
𝑦=𝑥+𝑎 3
The solutions are
𝑦 =𝐴+𝐵
or
𝑎
𝑥 =𝐴+𝐵−
3

The terms A and B are

3 −𝑞
𝐴= + 𝑄
2
3 −𝑞
𝐵= − 𝑄
2
Example 2:Calculation of Equilibrium
Position continued…
Where
𝑎 3 𝑎𝑏
𝑞=2 − +𝑐
3 3
and
𝑝 3 𝑞 2
𝑄= +
3 2
where
−𝑎3
𝑝= +𝑏
3
For a third-order polynomial equation, three distinct solutions can be found. For this
problem, all the mathematically feasible solutions are listed below:
𝒙𝟏 = −𝟐. 𝟒𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟕 𝝁𝒎 𝒙𝟐 = −𝟏. 𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟔 𝝁𝒎 𝒙𝟑 = −𝟐. 𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟔 𝝁𝒎

However, the late two numbers are not correct because one of them (x2) is already into
the pull-in range, and x3 is even beyond the original electrode gap allowance.
Application of Parallel Plate
Capacitors
1.Inertia Sensor
2.Pressure Sensor
3.Flow Sensor
4.Tactile Sensor
5.Parallel Plate Actuator
 Inertia Sensor
 According to Newton’s Second Law:

“An acceleration (a) acting on an object with a mass (m)

would produce a reactive inertia force (ma) related to its frame”

 The inertia force may in turn modify capacitive electrode

spacing.
 This constitutes the basic operating principles of electrostatic
acceleration sensors.
Example: Capacitance Sensor
Response
Solution
Parallel-Plate Capacitive
Accelerometer

Fabrication steps of
Capacitive Accelerometer
Torsional Parallel-Plate Capacitive
Accelerometer

Fabrication steps of
surface micromachined
parallel-plate capacitor
serving as accelerometer
 Pressure Sensor
 Widely used in automotive systems, industrial process control,
medical diagnostics and monitoring, and environmental
monitoring.
 The membrane thickness is a primary factor in determining the
pressure sensor sensitivity.
 MEMS technology allows membranes to be very thin compared
to what can be achieved with conventional machining.
 The uniformity of membrane thickness is very good using
microfabrication.
Membrane Parallel-Plate Pressure
Sensor

Fabrication steps of pressure

sensor with sealed cavity
 Flow Sensor
 Broadly encompass devices for measuring point fluid speed,
volume flow rate, shear stress at the wall, and pressure.
 Advantages:
 Small size and less disturbance to the field of interest
 High sensitivity stemming from compliant mechanical elements
or circuit integration
 Potential for achieving large array of sensors with uniformi
performance.
Capacitive Boundary-Layer Shear
Stress Sensor

A floating element shear stress

sensor.
 Tactile Sensor
 A critical component for robotic applications.

 In order to accurately measure tactile information, the sensors

must have high density of integration and high sensitivity,
preferably in multiple axes.

 MEMS technology provides the basis for miniaturization and

functional integration.
Multiaxis Capacitive Tactile Sensor

Fabrication steps of a bulk micromachined parallel-plate

capacitor serving as differential mode tactile sensor
 Parallel-Plate Actuators
 Can be used for micro actuation.
 Most common applications involve linear displacement vertical
to the plane of electrodes or rotational displacement.
 It is important to keep in mind the tradeoff between the range
of movement and the available force when designing an
electrostatic micro actuator.
Parallel-Plate Actuator

The operation principle of scratch drive actuator

 Interdigitated Finger Actuator
 Using the capacitance generated from sidewalls of electrodes.
 Such capacitors provide alternative fabrication and operation
modes compared with parallel-plate capacitors.
 They involve interdigitated fingers (IDT) to increase the edge
coupling length.
 Also called as comb-drive device.
 Interdigitated Finger Capacitors

Overlapping
distance

Length of
fingers

𝑙0 𝑡
𝐶 = 𝜀0 𝜀𝑟
𝑑

Perspective view of comb-drive sensors and actuators .

Interdigitated Finger Capacitors- Single Fixed
and Two Neighboring Moving Fingers
 Interdigitated Finger Capacitors-
Transverse Comb Drive

At rest;

When the free fingers moves by a distance of x;

The total capacitance;

Displacement sensitivity; Magnitude of force;

Interdigitated Finger Capacitors-
Transverse Comb Drive
Interdigitated Finger Capacitors-
Longitudinal Comb Drive
Interdigitated Finger Capacitors-
Lateral Comb Drive
Example: Sensitivity of Accelerometer
Example: Sensitivity of Accelerometer
Example: Sensitivity of Accelerometer
Application of Comb-Drive Devices

1.Inertia Sensor

2. Actuators
 Inertia Sensors
 Inertia sensors based on comb drives can be
realized in a variety of ways.
 One of the most classical MEMS sensors, the Analog
Device ADXL accelerometers is based on coplanar
transverse comb-drive fingers.
Comb-Drive Accelerometer – torsional
acceleration sensor

Fabrication process of torsional acceleration sensor

 Actuators
 Frequently used for generating in-plane or out-of-
plane displacement.
 The amplitude of displacement under DC or quasi-
static biasing is always rather limited.
Comb-Drive Actuator with Large
Displacement
A micromachined gear movement mechanism.