Some issues in mechanical design of MEMS transducers

Abstract

The focus in MEMS technology is now slowly changing from process-centric research to design. More and more mechanical designers are entering MEMS field. However, most designers have intuitive feel for macro-scale designs, but not for micro-scale design. Intuition is an indispensable tool in design that cannot be replaced by brute force simulation. This paper is about some of the issues in mechanical design of MEMS transducer elements that are not yet a part of a designer's intuition. We discuss, through examples, why these issues belie our intuition at the micro-scale.