Analysis of resonant pull-in of micro-electromechanical oscillators

Jérôme Juillard (1)

1 GeePs - Laboratoire Génie électrique et électronique de Paris

In this paper, the equations governing the pull-in of electrostatic MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) oscillators are established and analyzed. This phenomenon defines the maximal oscillation amplitude that can be obtained without incurring instability and, hence, an upper limit to the performance of a given device. The proposed approach makes it possible to accurately predict pull-in behaviour from the purely resonant case, in which the electrostatic bias is very small, to the static case. The method is first exposed in the case of a parallel-plate resonator and the influence of the excitation waveform on the resonant pull-in characteristics is assessed. It is then extended to the more complex case of clamped-clamped and cantilever beams. The results are validated by comparison with transient simulations.

Domaines: Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

Jérôme Juillard. Analysis of resonant pull-in of micro-electromechanical oscillators. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2015, 350, pp.123-139. ⟨10.1016/j.jsv.2015.03.056⟩. ⟨hal-01235573⟩