The squeezed-film damping component of the pull-in time of an electrostatically-actuated micromechanical fixed-fixed beam is shown to be a sensitive, and nearly linear function of ambient air pressure in the measured range of 0.1 mbar to 1013 mbar (1 atm or 760 Torr). Pull-in time simulations, based on a one-dimensional macromodel using a damping constant proportional to pressure, are in good a...

In this article, the pull-in instability and dynamic characteristics of electrostatically actuated suspended microchannel resonators are studied. A theoretical model is presented to describe the pull-in effect of suspended microchannel resonators by considering the electrostatic field and the internal fluid. The results indicate that the system is subjected to both the pull-in instability and t...

A previously proposed two-terminal carbon-nanotube-based device with closed-loop feedback is demonstrated through in situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) experiments. The pull-in/pull-out tests were carried out using a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) welded to a conductive probe attached to a nanomanipulator. The MWCNTs were cantilevered over a gold electrode and electrostatically actua...

This paper investigates the design optimization of an electrostatically actuated microcantilever resonator that operates in air. The nonlinear effects of electrostatic actuation and air damping make the structural dynamics modeling more complex. There is a need for an efficient way to simulate the system behavior so that the design can be more readily optimized. This paper describes an efficien...

Electrostatically actuated polysilicon beams fabricated in the MUMPs process are studied, with an emphasis on the behavior when the beam is in contact with an underlying silicon nitride dielectric layer. Detailed 2D electromechanical simulations, including the mechanical effects of stepups, stress-stiffening and contact, as well as the electrical effects of fringing fields and finite beam thick...

This paper introduces our recent activities in R&D Center of Excellence for Integrated Microsystems toward new integrated MEMS. The most prominent difference of the new integrated MEMS from conventional ones is that MEMS is fabricated on advanced LSI with a very small design rule. Two examples of integrated MEMS technologies under development are described. The first one is singlecrystal-silico...

The development of a novel system integrating SU-8 micro-grippers with a tensile force sensor for handling and characterising the mechanical properties of delicate biological samples, such as fibrils, is presented. The micro-grippers are actuated by the electro-thermal effect and have gripping forces comparable to the common “hot-and-cold-arm” grippers. A thorough and robust finite element mode...

Future of analytical and manufacturing methods based on micro-mechanical cantilevers, depends critically on the ability to implement parallel operation and fast signal processing [1]. There are two mean reasons: high throughput requirement and complexity (multidimensionality) of analyzed value. In order to get parallel function, any single device should be simultaneously: recognizable, autonomo...

The evolution problem for a membrane based model of an electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical system (MEMS) is studied. The model describes the dynamics of the membrane displacement and the electric potential. The latter is a harmonic function in an angular domain, the deformable membrane being a part of the boundary. The former solves a heat equation with a right hand side that depe...

In a recent article, Disseldorp et al. [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 81, 043702 (2010)] present a micromachined z-scanner for scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The scanner comprises a micromachined electrostatically actuated membrane anchored to its substrate with crab-leg flexures. This structure is used as a fast actuator specifically for atomic force microscope and scanning tunneling microscope. The au...