Finite Element Analysis

3D models built and exported from MEMS Pro

.ANF format: ANSYS neutral format .SAT format: ACIS text format (compatible with most FEA, RF & solvers)

Preprocessing in ANSYS
Boundary conditions/loads Meshing Material/element properties

MEMS Features MEMSCAP

Yiching Liang March 6, 2002

ANSYS

ANSYS solver MEMS Pro add-ons in ANSYS

3D to layout Reduced order modeler

ANSYS MEMS Initiative

ANSYS/Multiphysics MEMS analysis requirements
Devices are inherently multiphysics System of units applicable to small scale Meshing of high aspect ratio devices & features Unique material properties Lumped parameter extraction (into SPICE, VHDL-A/MS) Capability to model large field domains associated with electromagnetics & CFD

ANSYS MEMS Related Features

Electrostatics Electrostatic-Structural Coupling Trefftz Electrostatics Capacitance Matrix Extraction Reduced Order Macro Modeling Piezoelectric Pre-stressed modal Fluid-Structural Coupling Free Surface Fluids High Frequency Electromagnetics Composite Beams Initial/Residual Stress System of Units
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Electrostatics
Important in MEMS
To determine both capacitance and electrostatic forces Typically used to actuate devices such as comb drives and switches

Adaptive P-Elements
3D P-elements for electrostatics
SOLID128 Brick/Wedge elements SOLID127 Tetrahedral elements

Open domain modeled either using infinite boundary elements (INFIN110, and INFIN111) or Trefftz domain technology

Polynomial order of element increased automatically to satisfy convergence to a prescribed degree of accuracy
P-order may extend from 2 - 8

Supports
All electrostatics boundary conditions and loads node coupling and constraint equations Trefftz Domain & CMATRIX.

Electrostatic Analysis with P-Elements

Adaptive P-element study on comb drive structure
Color code on elements: polynomial orders Electrostatic field contour plot

Electrostatic-Structural Coupling
Allows the actual electrostatic actuation of a MEMS device to be simulated Three methods for electrostatic -structural simulation
ESSOLV macro tool: a sequential coupled field macro TRANS126: Reduced order macro model element Manual sequential coupled: using the ANSYS APDL macro language

ESSOLV Macro
Solves coupled electrostatic-structural static analysis Macro automates a sequential solution process:
Electrostatic solution Structural solution (LDREAD of forces from electrostatics) Automatic mesh morphing of electrostatic mesh Convergence monitoring

Trans126 Element
Electromechanical transducer (EMT) macro element for electrostatic-structural simulation Characterized by capacitance vs. displacement curve Couples directly to:
FEA Solid models (solid elements, shell elements, beams) Other macro models FEA substructure models

Electrostatic field mesh morphs to accommodate the deformed structure Useful for obtaining pull-in voltages, deflections, fields, forces, etc.

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Resonator Example
Electrostatic analysis with EMT elements
Perform electrostatic analysis and capacitance extraction on one comb drive Table or curve fit results to define displacement vs. capacitance function, apply to TRANS126 Replace full model with TRANS126 elements

Electrostatics: 3D Trefftz Domain

For handling open boundary domains in electrostatics Hybrid FEA - BEA technology
The open domain is not meshed Substantial reduction in the size of model -> solution time

Comb drive: 250k DOFs -> 2 DOFs

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Trefftz Method
May be used to connect multiple finite element electrostatic field domains
Eliminating the need to mesh the field regions between component regions

Trefftz Example
Example: charged, isolated sphere in free space
200 DOFs Within 3% of closed form solution

Electrostatic field around two charged spheres:

Spheres with individual finite element meshes connected by a Trefftz domain.

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Trefftz Convergence Characteristics

Infinite elements vs. Trefftz domain

CMATRIX Macro
Automates computation of systems capacitance matrix
Extracts capacitance change as a function of device displacement

% Error (Capacitance)

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Infinte Elements Trefftz Domain

Applicable to any number of conductors/dielectric materials Derives ground and lumped matrices
Lump matrix provides the self and mutual capacitance between conductors.

Useful for extracting lumped capacitance for use in system level circuit-simulations
Mesh Refinement Parameter

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Comb Drive Example

Cross-section electric field contour plots for an analysis on a small section (2 teeth) of a comb drive Contour plots shows electric fields used to compute the self and mutual capacitance

CMATRIX Example Output

P12 P11 P22

The results can be listed on screen, output to a file, or accessed by the ANSYS APDL macro language Lumped capacitance can be used in
System level simulation Input to ANSYS Trans126 EMT element

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Macro Model Elements

Simplified representations
Enable rapid simulation of complex MEMS structures

Resonator Example
Comb drive resonator
Comb drives: 2 Trans126 elements (EMT1 & EMT2) Folded springs: 1 spring element (K1) Proof mass: 1 mass element (M1) Squeeze film damping: 1 damper element (D1)

Mechanical elements:
Springs, lumped mass, dampers

Circuit elements:
Resistors, capacitors, inductors, transformers, diodes, V/I sources

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Piezoelectric Analysis
MEMS piezoelectric transducers
Large deformations Typically more efficient actuator performance than both electrostatic and thermal actuators

Beam Steerer Example

The two support arms have a layer of piezoelectric material that move the square-shaped reflecting surface

Piezoelectric capabilities:
Geometric nonlinearities: large deflections/rotations Stress stiffening Pre-stressed modal and harmonic analyses Accurately accounts for changes in the electromechanical field in bending motion Direct input of the piezoelectric strain matrix [d] Calculation of the correction to the permittivity matrix [epsT][epsS]
Courtesy Waveprecision, a division of GSI Lumonics

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Pre-Stressed Modal Analysis

In MEMS, pre-stress is sometimes used to adjust or fine tune the response of the structure
Can compensate for variations in device geometry and material properties (primarily due to fabrication process variations)

Pre-Stressed Examples
Piezoelectric prestressed modal analysis
First four modes

ANSYS/Multiphysics supports the following types of pre-stressed modal analysis:

Mechanical pre-stress directly applied as a mechanical load Electrostatic pre-stress applied via Trans126 EMT element Piezoelectric pre-stress applied as a voltage to the piezoelectric

Electrostatic prestressed modal analysis

First mode

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Coupled Fluid Structural Analysis

Fluidic-structural damping
At higher velocity the fluid does not have enough time to move and is simply compressed Fluid damping changes drastically when the transition from compressible to incompressible flow occurs Can change the structural response of MEMS devices

Mirror Example
End view of a parallel plate capacitor/mirror assembly
Upper plate rotates Blue areas is the meshed fluidic domain
Pressure contour

FSSOLV macro automates the simulation

Mesh morphing Convergence monitoring

Capabilities
Allows for large deformations Time transient problems: user-specified displacement & velocity time history for moving body Computes both lift and drag forces Incompressible and compressible flow Equivalent resistance and damping terms can be extracted as macro models
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Free Surface Fluidics

Simulates capillary forces & surface tension Volume of Fluids (VOF) technology
Models time transient problems involving moving liquids with a free surface Fluid moves through the mesh No mesh morphing is required

Inkjet Nozzle Example

3-D visualization of an inkjet printer nozzle droplet formation

Gas and liquid interface: continuum surface force (CSF) method to model the surface tension Surface tension material properties can be temperature dependent Available results
Contour plots of the fluid boundaries Pressure distributions within the fluid

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High Frequency Electromagnetics

Full wave, frequency domain solvers allow RF MEMS devices to be easily analyzed Solves Maxwell's equations in the frequency domain
Interior class problems such as wave guides and cavities Exterior problems such as antenna radiation patterns

Bandpass Filter Example

S11 scattering parameter vs. frequency for a bandpass filter
Good correlation with alternative analysis methods such as finite difference time domain (FDTD)

Includes dielectric and eddy current losses

Can compute heat generation rates that can be sequentially coupled into thermal and thermal-structural physics

Perfectly Matched Layer/absorber (PML) for open boundaries Near and far field post-processing tools

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Composite Beams
Arbitrary beam cross sections with multiple materials
Multi-layered nature of surface micromachined MEMS devices

Composite Resonator Example

Comb drive fingers & frame are modeled using composite beams
Model consists of ~100 beam elements

Eliminates the need to mesh the volume of a complex geometry for a structural analysis
Dramatically reduces model size and computation time

For structural analysis only

Static displacement Time transient Dynamic analysis

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Initial Stress
Residual stresses: different thermal properties of each material/layer
Sometimes used as a design feature

Optical Grating Device Example

The effect of initial stress in the structural polysilicon layer of a optical grating device
Deformation ~ 50 nm

Allows direct specification of a constant state of residual stress in each material

GUI or text file input

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Systems of Units
MKS units are not suitable for MEMS ANSYS provides two systems of units suitable for MEMS simulation:
uMKSV (micrometer, kilogram, second, volt, pico-ampere) uMVSfA (micrometer, volt, second, femto-ampere, gram)

Analysis Example: Thermal actuator

Beam actuated by thermal expansion

Unit of length is in m
Material properties are scaled

Sample conversion tables

SEM Image courtesy of Victor Bright, U Col. Boulder. 35 36

Analysis Example: Electrostatic Mirror

Electrostatically actuated mirror
Surrounding air also meshed

Analysis Example: Accelerometer

Time transient analysis

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Analysis Example: Linear Resonator

Modal analysis

Analysis Example: Linear Resonator

Electrostatic-structural analysis

Images courtesy of Russell DeAnna, NASA. 39 40

Analysis Example: Microfluidic Channel

Non Newtonian flow

Analysis Example: Microfluidic Valve

Microfluidic valve / resonator

120 m

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