This paper presents a comprehensive case study on electro-mechanical analysis of MEMS[1] variable capacitors. Using the fundamental mechanical and electrical equations, static and dynamic behaviors of the device are studied. The analysis is done for three different modes, namely: dc (static mode), small signal ac and large signal regime. A complete set of equations defining dynamic behavior of ...

In this paper we present a complete methodology for efficient electro-mechanical characterization of a CMOS compatible MEMS technology. Using an original test structure, the so-called “U-shape cantilever beam,” we are able to determine all mechanical characteristics of force sensors constituted with elementary beams in a given technology. A complete set of electro-mechanical relations for the d...

This paper reviews mass spectrometers based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The MEMS approach to integration is first briefly described, and the difficulties of miniaturizing mass spectrometers are outlined. MEMS components for ionization and mass filtering are then reviewed, together with additional components for ion detection, vacuum pressure measurement and pumping. M...

Failure of packaged polysilicon micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) subjected to impacts involves phenomena occurring at several length-scales. In this paper we present a multi-scale finite element approach to properly allow for: (i) the propagation of stress waves inside the package; (ii) the dynamics of the whole MEMS; (iii) the spreading of micro-cracking in the failing part(s) of the se...

The polymer polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) has unique piezoelectric properties favorable for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems (NEMS) applications. In the present research, we conducted nanometer-length scale characterization of this material using several high-resolution techniques. Specifically, we used an atomic force microscope (AFM) to study the ...

Hexapod locomotive Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) microrobot with Pulse-type Hardware Neural Networks (P-HNN) locomotion controlling system is presented in this chapter. MEMS microrobot is less than 5 mm width, length, and height in size. MEMS microrobot is made from a silicon wafer fabricated by micro fabrication technology to realize the small size mechanical components. The mechanic...

Getting Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) out of a wafer after fabrication processes is of great interest in testing, packaging or simply using these devices. Actual solutions require special machines like wafer dicing machines, increasing time and cost of de-tethering MEMS. This article deals with a new solution for manufacturing mechanical de-tetherable silicon MEMS. The presented solut...

The size of every component for opto-electrical devices or micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) has been reduced in recent years due to progress in opto-digital communications technology. The demands for micro-sized holes, slits and 3D structures of hard brittle materials such as ceramics and glass are considerable, and this has stimulated research into new methods and systems for a micro-me...

This paper presents a hybrid prognostics approach for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). This approach relies on two phases: an offline phase for the MEMS and its degradation modeling, and an online phase where the obtained degradation model is used with the available data for prognostics. In the online phase, the particle filter algorithm is used to perform online parameters estimation o...