Dynamic and electrical analysis of MEMS capacitor with accelerated motion effects

Abstract

MEMS technology is growing rapidly in RF field, because of the advantage over p-i-n diode or FET switches. An accurate knowledge of the electromagnetic field evolution around a moving or rotating body is very important for the design, optimization and realization of new optical devices or microwave devices, such as the RF-MEMS structures. We propose the numerical technique based on the finite-difference time-domain method with an adaptive implementation of grid generation. This simulation method is applied to the analysis of a two-dimensional MEMS variable capacitor with accelerated motions. The acceleration of the MEMS capacitor is derived under the equilibrium between the spring force and electrical force. Using this acceleration, the numerical results that express the relationship between the acceleration of the plates and the spring constant and the mass of the plates are shown.