MEMS: Field Models and Optimal Design (Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 573)

This book highlights numerical models as powerful tools for the optimal design of?Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems?(MEMS). Most MEMS experts have a background in electronics, where circuit models or behavioral models (i.e. lumped-parameter models) of devices are preferred to field models. This is certainly convenient in terms of preliminary design, e.g. in the prototyping stage. However, design optimization should also take into account fine-sizing effects on device behavior and therefore be based on distributed-parameter models, such as finite-element models. The book shows how the combination of automated optimal design and field-based models can produce powerful design toolboxes for MEMS. It especially focuses on illustrating theoretical concepts with practical examples, fostering comprehension through a problem-solving approach. By comparing the results obtained using different methods, readers will learn to identify their respective strengths and weaknesses.