In this paper, dynamic behavior of a functionally graded cantilever micro-beam and its pull-in instability, subjected to simultaneous effects of a thermal moment and nonlinear electrostatic pressure, has been studied. It has been assumed that the top surface is made of pure metal and the bottom surface from a metal–ceramic mixture. The ceramic constituent percent of the bottom surface ranges fr...

A gap with variable geometry is presented for both cantilever beam and fixed-fixed beam actuators as a method to reduce the pull-in voltage while maintaining a required displacement. The method is applicable to beams oriented either in a plane parallel to or perpendicular to a substrate, but is most suitable for vertically oriented (lateral) beams fabricated with a high aspect ratio process whe...

Knowledge and control of residual strain is critical for device design in MEMS, and therefore it is important to establish standards for residual strain measurement. In this study, pointer, microring, bent-beam, and fixed-fixed beam test structures are used to evaluate residual strain both theoretically and experimentally. An equation that enables easier evaluation of bentbeam structures is der...

In this paper altitude measurement from water surface using laser beam is presented. Research data indicate that the reflection of infrared waves from water surface is about zero and it is less than 2% for visible radiations. Phase-shift and heterodyne technique was used for the measurement, and the laser beam ( mW p nm 10 , 700 = = l ) was modulated by a sine wave having a fixed frequency....

In this paper we develop a numerical procedure using finite element and augmented Lagrangian meth-ods that simulates electro-mechanical pull-in states of both cantilever and fixed beams in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches. We devise the augmented Lagrangian methods for the well-known Euler-Bernoulli beam equation which also takes into consideration of the fringing effect of electr...