2003 International Conference on MEMS, NANO and Smart Systems (ICMENS'03)
Dynamics and Touchdown in Electrostatic MEMS
Banff, Alberta, Canada
July 20-July 23
ISBN: 0-7695-1947-4
A mathematical model of an idealized electrostatically actuated MEMS or NEMS device is presented for the purpose of studying the dynamics of the so-called "pull-in" instability. This arises when applied voltages are increased beyond a certain critical voltage where steady-state solutions cease to exist. A reduced one-dimensional nonlinear reaction-diffusion equation representing an idealized electrostatic structure is derived and analyzed. The coefficient tuning the nonlinear part determines existence of steady-state solutions. Questions about where, when, and how touchdown occurs are answered. A summary of new findings is presented and formal analytical results are compared with numerical approximations.
Citation:
Gilberto Flores, Gema A. Mercado, John A. Pelesko, "Dynamics and Touchdown in Electrostatic MEMS," icmens, pp.182, 2003 International Conference on MEMS, NANO and Smart Systems (ICMENS'03), 2003