MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) is an evolving field and is highly interdisciplinary in nature. This course will examine a few fundamental issues related to MEMS materials, forces and dynamics. These issues derive their attributes from the small size scale - whether it is the dimension of MEMS, or the proximity between neighboring entities, or the characteristic length of the micro structure of materials - and hence they are shared by a large class of MEMS irrespective of their applications. The goal of the course is to provide fundamental understanding of MEMS necessary for advanced MEMS design and analysis.
There is no text book for the course, but several books and articles will be referred. Grading will be based on five home works, one mid term exam, and a final project.
Pre-requisite: consent of the instructor.
Topics
- Overview of sensors and actuators:
- early small mechanical systems to modern MEMS
- MEMS materials:
- Overview of fabrication processes and materials
- Scaling laws:
- electrostatics, magnetics, fluidics and elastodynamics
- Thin films for MEMS
- Kinetics of growth and etching, Silicon dioxide: a case study
- Mechanical behavior of thin films:
- Residual/intrinsic stress
- Strength - a size effect
- Experimental studies of thin films using MEMS instruments
- Surface forces and stability of MEMS
- Surface tension
- Electrostatic force
- Stiction, a case study
- Mid Term
- Dynamics of MEMS
- Linear motion
- Non-linear motion due to large deformation/non-linear elasto-electric fields
- Duffing behavior in MEMS
- Mathieu behavior in MEMS
- Chaotic systems
- Tunable dynamical systems
- Failure and reliability of MEMS
- Fatigue and fracture of Poly crystalline Si at micro scale
- Design considerations for MEMS
- Laboratory demonstration of MEMS
- Student project presentations