Version 2003.

November 19, 2003

Mode Shapes and Stiffness of an Accelerometer

This tutorial details the steps involved in determining the mode shapes and mechanical stiffness in Z-direction of the
accelerometer seen in Figure DA2-1:
Figure DA2-1 Accelerometer Model

The tutorial is divided into the following exercises:

Exercise 1: Create a Process File and MPD
1. Make a new project.
2. Verify the MPD settings.
3. Create a process file:
b. Add deposit, etch, and sacrifice layers.
c. Assign material, thickness, mask and polarity
Exercise 2: Create a 2-D Layout
1. Start layout from process file
2. Create a layout:
a. Draw masks for each layer (beams, mirror, electrode)

Use different drawing techniques entering points, using the mouse to define rectangles

Using Cell Hierarchy

b. Save Cell.
c. Save Layout File.
Exercise 3: Generate a 3D Model and Mesh
1. Compare mesh options.
2. Create mesh.
3. View mesh and assign names.
Exercise 4: Modal Analysis
1. Run MemMech on the model to get first 6 modes with no BC's other than fixing the ends.
2. View results in the Visualizer.
Exercise 5: Extract the Stiffness of the Structure in Z-direction
1. Set up and run MemMech.

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Problem Description
The following drawing shows all the details of the accelerometer. All dimensions are in micrometers. The layered
composition from bottom to top is

Base Silicon

Aluminum electrode layer

Bottom Tether Silicon

Bulk Silicon

Top Tether Silicon

The end of the tip of a 20 m x 20 m test probe to push down the structure. The user is free to choose a
material for this tip since it does not influence the simulation results.

The structure is actually fabricated by etching two Silicon wafers and bonding them together. However for simplicity
in the model, the bulk silicon is not split into two separate similar structures but modeled as one bulk silicon part.
Figure DA2-21 Dimensioning of Accelerometer

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Exercise 1: Create a Process and MPD

Exercise 1: Create a Process and MPD

In this exercise you will create the depth information that the software requires to render a 3-D solid model. You will
create a process file that has the necessary deposit and etch information. The software then combines the information
in the process file later with the 2-D masks created in the Layout Editor.

1.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

1. Start CoventorWare, and create a new project named

Accelerometer.

Detailed User Procedure

a. Start CoventorWare by double clicking the icon on your
desktop. If you don't have this shortcut, go to Start > Programs
>Coventor > CoventorWare 2003 > CoventorWare 2003. The
windows shown below open.
b. In the Open dialog window, click on the New Project icon.
c. Enter the project name Accelerometer; click on OK.
d. Change the Settings file name to ModeShapes. Click on Open.
e. From the Function Manager window, select File > Save.

1.1: MPD
Before creating a process file, you must access the Material Properties Database. This database stores properties for
materials used for MEMS design. The user designates the file path for the mpd file in the Users Settings window the
first time CoventorWare is run.
In this exercise, the MPD is checked and validated before a process file is created because the materials used in the
process file must exist and have the correct values. The process file takes the materials and their values from the
MPD. In the next step, properties for Silicon will be checked. This materials is used to construct the accelerometer.

1.1.0:

Advanced User Procedure

2. Access the MPD and verify the material property

values for Silicon and Polysilicon as shown in the
table below.

Detailed User Procedure

a. From the Function Manager window, click on the MPD Editor
icon.
b. Click on the drop-down arrow beside the Material field and
select SILICON.
c. Check against the property values shown in Table DA2-1. Only
the values listed must match for the tutorials. Edit the windows
as necessary.

Table DA2-1 MPD Properties for Tutorial

Property

Data Type

Sub prop

Silicon

Units

Elastic Constants

Elastic-Iso

1.69e+05

MPa

Poisson

3.00e-01

Density

Constant-Scalar

2.50e-15

kg/m3

Stress

Constant-Scalar

MPa

TCE

Constant-Scalar

2.5e-06

1/K

Thermal Cond

Constant-Scalar

1.48e+08

pW/m K

Specific Heat

Constant-Scalar

7.12e+14

pJ/kg K

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1.2: Create a Process File

In this sequence you will use the Process Editor to specify the actual process of building the model. The Process Editor supplies the information needed in the layout editor such as mask names and layer colors and to construct the 3-D
solid model of the device from the 2-D masks. Material layers are constructed in a deposit and etch sequence that
emulates the actual fabrication process. The process parameters that can be adjusted include

material thickness (during deposition)

deposition type (stacked, conformal, or planar)

sidewall angles (profiles of the angular slope allowed during an etch operation)

a mask perimeter offset (the ability to change the mask dimensions through an undersize or oversize operation to accommodate foundry processing requirements)

mask polarity (positive or negative tone to determine whether light or dark areas of the mask are etched)

1.2.0:

Advanced User Procedure

1. Access the Process Editor and create the process

from the drawing of the accelerometer.

Detailed User Procedure

a. From the Function Manager, click on the Process Editor icon.
b. Use the Deposit, Etch, and Sacrifice icons to add the layers
needed using the drawing of the accelerometer in Figure DA221. Use an arbitrary sacrificial layer material, for example Air.
c. Select the materials.
d. Use descriptive Layer names such as metal, lowerbeam,
upperbeam and mass for example
e. For each deposit layer, click in the Type cell, and choose
Planar, conformal, or stacked.
f. Enter thickness values. Give the Probe tip a finite thickness of
10 m for example.
g. Select File > Save, and save the file as accelerometer.proc.

The Appendix on page DA2-17 has a sample process file

that may be used for the accelerometer design.
h. Select File > Close.

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Exercise 2: Create a 2-D Layout

Exercise 2: Create a 2-D Layout

The dimensions of the layout can be found in Figure DA2-21, on page DA2-2.

2.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

Detailed User Procedure

1. Create a new layout from the process description.

a. Click on the Designer tab in the Function Manager.

b. From the Layout field drop-down menu, select create a new
layout, then click on the Layout Editor icon.

2. Save the library and cell as Accelerometer.cat.

The Layout Editor will take the layer information and start a
new layout session.

a. Click on the Save Icon,

b. Type the file name, Accelerometer.cat.
c. Select Cell > Save, and name the cell Accelerometer.

Figure DA2-22 Completed Layout

In this example we have introduced some cell hierarchy in the Layout. The accelerometer itself is placed in a cell
named Accelerometer while the Probe tip is located in a cell named Probe. The reason for doing this is to be able to
change the probe tip easily. The Cell hierarchy is shown in the next figure, a second probe that is circular in shape is
shown but is not used in this tutorial.

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Figure DA2-23 Cell browser

2.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

3. Draw the accelerometer according to the dimensions

in Figure DA2-21.

Detailed User Procedure

a. Draw the different parts of the accelerometer on the
appropriate layers.

The Top and Bottom Tether masks are exactly the same. For
building the solid model only one of the two masks is
needed. There is no need to copy the mask.
b. Copy layout from one mask layer to another one:
to Go to Modify > Object
Select the Object
Tick Create instead of Modify
Change the Layer
c. Click on Apply and Close.
4. Save the Cell Accelerometer and start a new Cell
named Probe. Save the Probe Cell.

a.
b.
c.
d.

5. Create a new Cell named MeasureStiffness that

references the Accelerometer and Probe Cells.

a. Create a new Cell MeasureStiffness that references the

Accelerometer and Probe Cells.
b. Reference the Accelerometer and place it in the origin.
c. Reference the Probe and place it at coordinate (240,0).

6. Save the cell and the file.

a. From the upper icon row, click on the disk icon and select Save
Cell.
b. Click again on the disk icon and select Save File. The
completed drawing is shown in Figure DA2-22.

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Save the Cell Accelerometer and start a new Cell named Probe.
Draw the 20 m x 20 m around the origin.
Save Probe Cell.
Select the Rectangle icon and enter these coordinates for the
right beam: 250,1 and 550,-1.

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Exercise 2: Create a 2-D Layout

2.1: Build a Solid Model

Now that the layout and process files are complete, a 3-D model can be built using the 2-D layout mask information
and the thickness and etch profile information from the process file. When the Designer tab is selected, the window
shown in Figure DA2-24 appears:
Figure DA2-24 Designer Tab Window

2.1.0:

Advanced User Procedure

Detailed User Procedure

1. From the Designer tab, build the solid model.

a. From the Designer tab, select the Accelerometer as the Top

Cell.
b. Select create a new model from the Model\Mesh field dropdown menu, then click on the Preprocessor icon.
c. Name the solid model Accelerometer.

2. View the solid model in the preprocessor.

a. The Preprocessor will automatically open.

b. Leave the Preprocessor open.

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Figure DA2-25 Solid Model of Torsional Mirror

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Exercise 3: Mesh Generation

Exercise 3: Mesh Generation

The next step in the design process is meshing. The meshing tool uses the model from the database.
[
3.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

Detailed User Procedure

1. Partition the tethers from the solid model as shown in

Figure DA2-26.

a. Go to Solid Model > Define Partition

b. Select three vertices while holding down the Shift key on as
shown in Figure DA2-26.
c. Click Layer Selection Mode icon
d. Select the TopTether and BottomTether Layer.
e. Go to Solid Model > Apply Partition.

Figure DA2-26 Partition Plane

Figure DA2-27 Partitioned Solid Model

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Advanced User Procedure

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Detailed User Procedure

2. Mesh the mass of the accelerometer with Manhattan

mesh settings 40, 40, 40; and the tethers with
Manhattan mesh settings as 4, 4, 4. Choose Linear
Bricks

a. Select Mesh > Mesher Defaults

b. Select the Manhattan mesher with default element size of 40 in
all directions. Set the Element Order to linear.
c. Select the 5 structural layers (2 new ones after partition) that
make up the mass and the tethers.
d. Drag the selection to the Mesh Model folder.
e. Use the Right Click > Split Region option to create a region for
each tether.
f. Set the Mesher Settings of the tethers to element size 4 in all
directions.
g. Click on Generate Mesh (or use Ctrl + G).

3. Name the end patches for fixing the accelerometer

and the patches between the tethers and the mass
where we will apply mechanical links.

a. Name the end patches for fixing the accelerometer and the
patches between the tethers and the mass where we will apply
mechanical links. Use the following names:
Fix
MassTopLink
MassBottomLink
TetherTopLink
TetherBottomLink
b. Save the model and close the Preprocessor.

Figure DA2-28 Partitioned Manhattan Brick Mesh

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Exercise 4: Modal Analysis

Exercise 4: Modal Analysis

MemMech computes the mechanical solution for the mirror problem. The solver uses the finite element method to
solve for mechanical stress and displacement at each node on each brick created for the model. For the simple tutorial
problem, the calculation is fast.

4.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

Detailed User Procedure

1. Set up a MemMech simulation using the

Accelerometer model.

a. From the Analyzer tab in the Function Manager set the solver
to MemMech.
b. Select the Accelerometer model from the Model/Mesh dropdown menu.
c. In the Analysis field, select create a new analysis from the
drop-down menu and click on the Solver Setup icon.

2. Setup a Modal analysis for calculating 6 modes.

a. Set the Physics option to Modal (non-equilibrium).

b. Set number of Modes to 6.
c. Click on Next.

4.0.0:

Detailed User Procedure

Advanced User Procedure

3. Set the SurfaceBCs window so that the tether ends

are fixed in all degrees of freedom.

a. Set the SurfaceBCs window Set1 for:

fixType set to: fixAll
fixType applied to end point patches fix

Figure DA2-29 shows the completed window.

4. In the Linkage BCs window, link the ends of the

beam to the bottom mirror patches using tied links.

a. Set the window as shown in Figure DA2-29. Link the tethers to

the mass. The smaller patches act as master patches.

5. Start the simulation.

a. In the MemMechBCs window, click on Run.

b. Name the result directory Accelerometer_Mech_run1.

Figure DA2-29 MemMech BC Settings

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Advanced User Procedure

6. Review the numerical modal results.

Version 2003.1

Detailed User Procedure

a. Select modeDomain from the Tables drop-down menu and
click on the View Table icon.
b. Verify the numerical results shown below.

Figure DA2-30 Modal Frequency Result

4.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

7. View results in the Visualizer.

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Detailed User Procedure

a.
b.
c.
d.

Click on the View 3D Results icon.

Go to Field > Contour >Variable.
Select V7: Modal Disp. _U.
Click on Close.

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Exercise 5: Probe Displacement Analysis

Exercise 5: Probe Displacement Analysis

A simple probe model is used to displace the probe tip down 1 m in order to extract the stiffness of the complete
structure.
There are three ways of simulating this:

If we are interested in an accurate model of the experimental set-up, the probe tip needs to have a separate
mesh, and contact boundary conditions should be applied within MemMech. The contact is set between the
end patch of the probe and the top patch of the mass.

If the contact problem is not the main topic of interest, the connection between the probe and the accelerometer can be simulated in two ways:
The probe can be meshed separately from the mass after which the tied links option can be used to connect it in the mechanical simulations to the accelerometer.

The easiest and most efficiently way is to model and mesh only a small end part of the probe tip
together with the upper tether, mass, and lower tether; this assures a continuous mesh. Depending on the
probe tip shape, the Extrude mesher or Mapped mesher can be used. The user can make additional cells in
the layout library for rectangular or circular tip points for example.

In this example we will use the last option and mesh the end point of the probe tip together with the accelerometer.
Use the Extrude mesher to generate a coarse mesh and then refine the mesh around the probe tip. The tethers will not
be partitioned separately in this tutorial, but will stay connected. If needed, some mesh refinement can be applied at
the connection of the tether to the mass as well.
Figure DA2-31 Probing the Accelerometer for Stiffness Calculations

5.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

1. Generate a new solid model with probe tip and name

it MeasureStiffness.

Detailed User Procedure

a.
b.
c.
d.

Go to the Designer tab.

Select MeasureStiffness as the TOP CELL.
Select create new solid model in the Model\Mesh field.
Click on the Preprocessor icon.

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When the solid modeler finishes, the Preprocessor will open.

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Advanced User Procedure

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Detailed User Procedure

2. Generate a mesh with Default Mesher settings,

Extrude, Pave mesher, average element size 40, and
40 in Z-direction.

a.
b.
c.
d.

3. View the solid model in the preprocessor

a. Move the Accelerometer Layers to the Mesh Model.

b. Zoom in to the Probe tip.

Select to the Mesh > Mesher Defaults.

Select Extruded bricks as the mesher with the Pave algorithm.
Set all Element Size fields to 40.
Click on OK.

c. Click on the Edge Selection Mode icon.

d.
e.
f.
g.
4. Generate the mesh.

Select one of the top 4 edges on the Probe Tip.

Right click and select Mesher Settings.
Change Element Size to 5.
Repeat for other 3 element edges.

a. Click on the Generate Mesh icon.

A similar procedure can be followed for the tether

connection. but is not required here. See Figure DA2-33.

5. Name the end patches.

a. Select the two end patches of the Tethers and name them fix.
b. Name the top patch of the Probe tip TopProbe.

6. Save and close the Preprocessor.

a. Save and Close Preprocessor.

Figure DA2-32 Mesh Refinement around Probe Tip

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Exercise 5: Probe Displacement Analysis

Figure DA2-33 Mesh Refinement around Tether Connection

Select 1 edge per tether and set the element size to 4.

5.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

Detailed User Procedure

7. Set up a MemMech mechanical simulation using the

MeasureStiffness model.

a. Create a new Analysis for the MeasureStiffness Accelerometer

analysis
b. Change the Physics settings to Mechanical. Make sure the
Additional Analysis field is set the None.
c. Click on Next.

8. Set up the MemMech SurfaceBCs:

Fix the end patch.
Displace the TopProbe patch by one micron in the
negative Z direction.

a. Set up SurfaceBCs. Choose FixAll for the patch named fix.

b. Apply a displacement boundary condition of -1 m in ZDirection, as shown in Figure DA2-34.
c. Remove all settings in the LinkageBCs window.

9. Start the simulation.

a. Click on Run.
b. Name the result directory MeasureStiffness_Mech_run1.

Figure DA2-34 SurfaceBCs

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Exercise 5: Probe Displacement Analysis

5.0.0:

Advanced User Procedure

10. View results in Post-Processor,

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Detailed User Procedure

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

View results in the Visualizer

Select to Field > Contour > Contour Variable.
Select the property you would like to see.
Exit the Visualizer.
Save your work and exit CoventorWare.

Figure DA2-35 Displacement Result Example

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Exercise 5: Probe Displacement Analysis

Appendix
Sample Process for Accelerometer

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Exercise 5: Probe Displacement Analysis

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Notes

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