BEM/FEM Analysis of MEMS With Thin Features

BEM/FEM Analysis of MEMS With Thin Features

Abstract

Numer ical analyses of a class of electr ically actuated MEMS deviceshave been car r ied out for over fteen year s by using the BEM to modelthe exter ior electr ic eld and the FEM to model the deformation of thestructure. I n many MEMS applications, the structural elements are thinplates or beams. A modied BEM approach has been proposed recentlythat can handle these thin features e-ciently without having to dealwith near ly singular matr ices. Use of a L agrangian formulation for boththe electr ical and mechanical domains makes these calculations verye-cient and accurate.
T his talk will present an overview of these recent developments. I npar ticular , two problems will be discussed in some detail. T he r st isconcerned with quasi-static deformations of thin MEMS plates,subjected to electrostatic for ces. T he second concerns free and for cedvibrations of thin MEMS beams. Stokes damping from the sur rounding uid is also included in the beam problem.