Leveraging Mainstream Design & Analysis Tools for Mems

As more MEMS-based products and applications move from research to commercialization, there is a growing array of choices for design and analysis software tools. Increasingly, mainstream CAD and CAE tools can be relied on to deliver robust capabilities previously available only with specialized, often expensive, MEMS-focused tools. Given the technical and business advantages of mainstream tools for some MEMS applications, serious consideration can be given to adding them to the MEMS designer’s and analyst’s toolbox. This paper identifies some of the considerations in choosing a MEMS CAD/CAE tool, and provides some real applications of mainstream tools successfully used in MEMS design and analysis. INTRODUCTION After several decades spent largely in the research domain, MEMS-based products are finally being commercialized at a furious pace. These products can require extensive design and analysis, with capabilities that include [1]: • 3D construction and visualization • material properties databases • simulation tools for (potentially coupled) thermal, mechanical, electro-magnetic, and fluid analyses • manufacturing process simulation, including lithographic and etch processes, process tolerances