Casimir Effect on Superharmonic Resonance of Bio-NEMS Circular Plate Resonator Sensors

Abstract

Casimir effect on superharmonic resonance of electrostatically actuated bio-nano-electro-mechanical system (Bio-NEMS) circular plate resonator sensor is investigated. The plate sensor resonator is clamped at the outer end and suspended over a parallel ground plate. The sensor can be used for detecting human viruses. Superharmonic resonance of the second order, frequency near one-fourth the natural frequency of the resonator, is induced using Alternating Current (AC) voltage. The magnitude of the AC voltage is also large enough to be consider hard excitation acting on the resonator. Beside Casimir effect, other external forces (i.e. electrostatic force and viscous air damping) acting on the MEMS resonator create a nonlinear behaviors such as bifurcation and pull-in instability. Hence, numerical models, such as Method of Multiple Scales (MMS) and Reduced Order Model (ROM), are used to predict the frequency-amplitude response for MEMS resonator. MMS transforms the nonlinear partial differential equation of motion into two simpler problems, namely zero-order and first-order. While, ROM, based on the Galerkin procedure which uses the mode shapes of vibration of the resonator as a basis of functions, transforms the nonlinear partial differential equation of motion into a system of ordinary differential equation with respect to dimensionless time. The frequency-amplitude response allows one to observe the behavior of the system for a range of frequencies near the superharmonic resonance. The effects of parameters such as Casimir effect, voltage, and damping on the frequency-amplitude response are reported.