Hierarchical Mixed-Domain Circuit Simulation, Synthesis and Extraction Methodology for MEMS

Emerging results for mixed-domain circuit simulation, a component-level synthesis strategy, and a layout extractor is presented for use in design of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The mixed-domain circuit representation is based on Kirchhoffian network theory. Micromechanical and electromechanical components may be partitioned hierarchically into low-level reusable elements. The MEMS component-level synthesis approach uses optimization to generate microstructure layout that meets specified performance criteria. A feature-recognition based extractor for verification translates layout geometry into the mixed-domain circuit representation. A common MEMS component, the integrated microresonator, demonstrates the use of these tools. Lumped-parameter MEMS simulation of the resonant frequency matches finite-element analysis to 1 % and fabricated resonators match to within 4 % of the synthesized performance. Based on this initial work, a hierarchical structured design methodology for integrated microsystems that is compatible with standard VLSI design is proposed.