EE5340 MEMS

Assignment-2
Due Date: Apr 15 2016

1. Simulate the stress profile of following polysilicon membranes under pressure: a) Square
membrane = 250 m 250 m b) Rectangular membrane= 500 m 250 m. Plot the stress
profile for both of them along both the direction (length and width) and figure out which will
be best suited for Piezo-resistive sensing in pressure sensor.
2. A Poly-Silicon fixed-fixed beam of length 500 m, width 50 m and thickness 2 m. A
dielectric layer of SiO2 (=4) of thickness 1m is kept between beam and bottom
electrode to avoid shorting of beam and bottom electrode. If the gap between dielectric
and beam is 2 m, Calculate the following,
a) Analytical expression for Pull-out Voltage.
b) Numerical value of Pull-in and Pull-out voltage.
3. Simulate the above mentioned structure in COMSOL Multiphysics.
a.) Find the pull-in voltage and verify it with analytical calculation
b.) Change the area of the beam (length width, you can vary any one of the parameter) and
find what effect it is having on pull-in of the beam.
4.
Figure 1. describes an electrokinetic pumping network for capillary electrophoresis. The c
circular microchannels are etched in glass and have a diameter of 100 m. The channel lengths
are depicted in the figure. Measuring the electrical impedance across ports 1 and 2 results in 400
M. The potentials at ports 1, 2, 3, and 4 are 1,000V, 1,000V, 1,500V, and 0V, respectively. The
zeta potential is assumed to be 100 mV. Determine the direction and flow rate of the
electrokinetic flow in the longest channel. The viscosity and the relative dielectric constant of the
fluid are 10-3 kg/m-sec and 50, respectively. The dielectric constant of vacuum is o =
8.8541810-14 F/cm.
[Hint: Try out circuit equivalence of flow channels]

Figure 1
5.
A Silicon Microcantilever beam of length 500 m, width 50 m and thickness 2 m is
treated with strands of DNA(-TAGCCA-). When a solution containing different fragments of DNA
is introduced, complementary strands of DNA will naturally bind to cantilevers. Using the
conventional biological assay method if the sequence of attaching DNA is (-ATCGGT-) having
equivalent mass to 10 ng.
a.) Calculate the change in resonance frequency for the first five modes.
b.) Plot the change in resonance frequency (f) Vs. mode no. (n=1,2,3,4,5)
c.) From the above plot, if the error in measurement is 100 Hz then, which mode will you
choose and give reason.
(Hint: Consider initially treated DNA (-TAGCCA-) as thin layer and neglect any initial change
in stress/mass. Though the detection is done in liquid medium for the sake of simplicity

consider the frequency equation in air medium, f = (Cn2/(2*pi)) *Meffective ,where n is mode
& Cn = 1.875, 4.7, 7.85 and pi*(n-0.5) for n>3)