Electrostatically Actuated MEMS Circular Plate Resonators: Frequency Response of Superharmonic Resonance of Third Order

Abstract

Abstract This paper deals with the frequency response of superharmonic resonance of order three of electrostatically actuated MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) circular plate resonators. The MEMS structure in this work consists of an elastic circular microplate parallel to an electrode ground plate. The microplate is elelctrostatically actuated through an AC voltage between the microplate and the ground plate. The voltage is in the category of hard excitations. The AC frequency is near one sixth of the natural frequency of the resonator. Since the electrostatic force acting on the resonator is proportional to the square of the voltage, it leads to superharmonic resonance of third order. Besides the electrostatic force, the system experiences damping. The damping force in this work is proportional to the velocity of the resonator, i.e. it is linear damping. Three methods are employed in this investigation. First, the Method of Multiple Scales (MMS), a perturbation method, is used predictions of the resonant regions for weak nonlinearities and small to moderate amplitudes. Second, the Reduced Order Model (ROM) method using two modes of vibration are also utilized to investigate the resonance. ROM is solved numerically integrated using Matlab in order to simulate time responses of the structure, and third, the ROM is used to predict the frequency response using AUTO, a software for continuation and bifurcation analysis. All methods are in agreement for moderate nonlinearities and small to moderate amplitudes. For relatively large amplitudes, when compared to the gap between the microplate and the ground plate, ROM more accurately predicts the behavior of the system. Effects of the parameters of the system on the frequency response are reported.