Abstract
This paper investigates the lateral pull-in effect of an in-plane overlap-varying transducer. The instability is induced by the translational and rotational displacements. Based on the principle of virtual work, the equilibrium conditions of force and moment in lateral directions are derived. The analytical solutions of the critical voltage, at which the pull-in phenomenon occurs, are developed when considering only the translational stiffness or only the rotational stiffness of the mechanical spring. The critical voltage in a general case is numerically determined by using nonlinear optimization techniques, taking into account the combined effect of translation and rotation. The influences of possible translational offsets and angular deviations to the critical voltage are modeled and numerically analyzed. The investigation is then expanded for the first time to anti-phase operation mode and Bennet’s doubler configuration of the two transducers.
Highlights
The comb-drive electrostatic transduction is one of the most popular mechanisms used in Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) due to its many inherent advantages such as high efficiency and low power consumption
The pull-in phenomenon is the loss of the equilibrium stability, from which one should distinguish the difference between the static and dynamic pull-in aspects
The static conditions based on potential energy are for local stability; they are only applicable for small displacement near the equilibrium point
Summary
The comb-drive electrostatic transduction is one of the most popular mechanisms used in Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) due to its many inherent advantages such as high efficiency and low power consumption. A voltage is applied to the device, generating an electrostatic force between fixed and movable electrodes, both in stroke direction and its perpendicular direction. In a critical condition, when the electrostatic force exceeds the mechanical restoring force, a small disturbance could lead to collapsing of the movable fingers to the fixed ones. This restriction is more critical when the MEMS transducer is electrically configured as Bennet’s doubler or voltage multiplier [7,8]. Design of comb-drive devices, requires a comprehensive analysis of a pull-in effect since the travel range and device performance are severely limited by the inherent instability
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