Design and implementation of micro-machined cantilever structures for MEMS-based digital inverter and electron tunneling sensor

Abstract

Micro-cantilevers are one of the most fundamental building blocks of many applications in the field of MEMS sensors and actuators. They are extensively explored micro-structures and yet, the most interesting ones in terms of their analytical elegance and probable applications in various domains. In this work, a detailed account, starting from the theory of micro-cantilever beams to their applications, has been investigated. The dynamic/modal response of the cantilevers under different damping mechanisms and the effects of their dimensions and the surrounding atmosphere have been analytically and experimentally investigated for arrays of cantilevers of wide range of dimensions [1]. Static response of the cantilevers under electrostatic actuation mechanism has been analyzed based on the Euler- Bernoulli beam theory. An integro-differential semi-numerical technique to solve the Euler-Bernoulli equation to find the static deflection of micro-cantilevers under electrostatic actuation has been presented [2]. An analytical technique to account for the effects of stiction forces on the static response of the beams has also been developed based on the above formulation [3]. For transient response analysis of the cantilevers, a distributed R-C ladder network model of the cantilever has been developed in which, by numerically co-solving Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws and the Euler-Bernoulli equation, the switching response of the cantilever has been thoroughly analyzed [4].