The pull-in instability places substantial restrictions on the performance of electrostatically driven MEMS devices by limiting their range of travel. Our objective is to present a systematic method of carrying out optimal design of novel types of electrostatic beams that have enhanced travel ranges. In this paper, we implement a shape optimization methodology using simulated annealing to maxim...

The operational range of MEMS electrostatic parallel plate actuators can be extended beyond pull-in with the presence of an intermediate dielectric layer, which has a significant effect on the behavior of such actuators. Here we study the behavior of cantilever beam electrostatic actuators beyond pull-in, using a beam model. Three possible static configurations of the beam are identified over t...

This paper presents a novel RF MEMS (Micro Electromechanical System) fixed-fixed switch for very fast switching. Using the obtained equations, the switching time depends on the stiffness and effective mass of the switch beam so that the switching time will be decreased by higher stiffness (spring constant) and lower effective mass. In new design, the suspension bridge is a three-layer beam so t...

Abstract: In this paper the design of a high voltage tolerant and reliable CMOS I/O buffer is proposed without using thick-oxide devices. In this presented design for mixed low voltage interface applications, it uses a simpler structure and therefore the circuit has good gate-oxide reliability. In addition, it is free of dc leakage current. No additional pad for dual power supplies is required ...

The mass-spring model of electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) is pervasive in the MEMS and NEMS literature. Nonetheless a rigorous analysis of this model does not exist. Here periodic solutions of the canonical mass-spring model in the viscosity dominated time harmonic regime are studied. Ranges of the dimensionless average app...

Design techniques for low-voltage analog TUters In CMOS technologies are discussed. The use of OTA-C implementation techniques towards low power supply voltages (3 V and below) requires special source degeneration and input signal folding techniques. Firstly, design techniques to achieve Pull CMOS continuous-time filters with low distortlon (Total harmonic distortion c -50 dB) and low power sup...

In this paper, a novel single-port five-transistor (5T) Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) cell and associated read/write assist is proposed. Amongst them, a word line suppression circuit is to provide a voltage of the respective connected word line to be lower than the power supply voltage VDD, as such the read/writeability of the cell can be improved and the half-selected cells disturbance ca...

Electro-optic (EO) polymeric Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulators with photo-bleaching (PB) induced waveguides and dual driving electrodes operating at 1.55 mm wavelength have been demonstrated. The halfwave voltage of the integrated polymeric modulator was 4.5 V in a push–pull configuration with a 1.5 cm interaction length. The extinction ratio was greater than 20 dB, and the fibre-to-fibre insertion ...

Elastomeric dielectric material has recently become a new alternative for actuator technology. The characteristics of dielectric elastomers placed between two electrodes to withstand large strain when electrodes are charged has attracted the attention of many researcher to study this material for actuator technology. Thus, in the past few years Danfoss Ventures A/S has established their own die...

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is commonly used to transmit power from a transmitting coil to various movable power devices. In the WPT system, due to a resonant tank inherent characteristic, the system cannot achieve a high output voltage gain. This paper proposes a novel current-fed push–pull circuit to realize high output voltage gain by adding a bi-directional switch between the resonant net...