Abstract
Natural frequency and frequency response are two important indicators for the performances of resonant microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. This paper analytically and numerically investigates the vibration identification of the primary resonance of one type of folded-MEMS comb drive resonator. The governing equation of motion, considering structure and electrostatic nonlinearities, is firstly introduced. To overcome the shortcoming of frequency assumption in the literature, an improved theoretical solution procedure combined with the method of multiple scales and the homotopy concept is applied for primary resonance solutions in which frequency shift due to DC voltage is thoroughly considered. Through theoretical predictions and numerical results via the finite difference method and fourth-order Runge-Kutta simulation, we find that the primary frequency response actually includes low and high-energy branches when AC excitation is small enough. As AC excitation increases to a certain value, both branches intersect with each other. Then, based on the variation properties of frequency response branches, hardening and softening bending, and the ideal estimation of dynamic pull-in instability, a zoning diagram depicting extreme vibration amplitude versus DC voltage is then obtained that separates the dynamic response into five regions. Excellent agreements between the theoretical predictions and simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the analyses.
Highlights
The resonant mode operation of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has found many applications in recent decades due to its advantages, such as a high signal-to-noise ratio, high quality factor, high sensitivity, and high dynamic stability [1,2,3,4,5]
To realize different functions of resonant MEMS, micro-components are designed into various configurations, in which comb drive with folded suspension configuration gradually becomes one of the most popular micro-components in the sensing and actuation field due to its capability in suppressing nonlinearities and increasing actuation force
Some of them contribute to suppressing nonlinearities [8,9], while some prefer to investigate the advantages of nonlinearities in the design of new MEMS devices [10,11,12]
Summary
The resonant mode operation of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has found many applications in recent decades due to its advantages, such as a high signal-to-noise ratio, high quality factor, high sensitivity, and high dynamic stability [1,2,3,4,5]. To realize different functions of resonant MEMS, micro-components are designed into various configurations, in which comb drive with folded suspension configuration gradually becomes one of the most popular micro-components in the sensing and actuation field due to its capability in suppressing nonlinearities and increasing actuation force. The effects of nonlinearities on the static and dynamic performances of MEMS devices have been discussed a much of the literature. Shmulevich and Elata [8] designed a new dynamically balanced folded beam suspension to suppress nonlinearity in the resonator and experimentally demonstrated the viability of new design. Zhang et al [11] gave a thorough investigation on the design of a highly sensitive mass sensor based on the parametric resonance analysis of a comb drive resonator governed by a nonlinear Mathieu equation. Rhoads et al [12] indicated that the nonlinear parametric resonance of a bandpass filter of comb drive MEMS oscillators could effectively improve some filtering characteristics of the oscillator
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
