Non-linear inverse problems and optimal design of MEMS

Abstract

Purpose -Fostered by the development of new technologies, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) are massively present on board of vehicles, within information equipment, as well as in medical and healthcare equipment. The purpose of this paper is to approach here the shape design of MEMS in terms of the optimization of a vector objective function, subject to a set of constraints. Objectives and constraints are non-linear, dependent on the unknown device shape. When multiple objective functions should be optimized simultaneously, the set of solutions minimizing the degree of conflict (Pareto front) can be searched for. Design/methodology/approach -This paper proposes an automated optimal design method based on connecting the MATLAB surrogate modeling (SUMO) toolbox with COMSOL Multiphysics finite element analysis tool, and the evolutionary algorithm NSGA-II as well.Findings -The efficiency of the optimization method proposed is approximately doubled in terms of runtime (5 vs 10 h for the referred platform), when compared with the same computational job without using surrogate models. This way, a cost-effective and accurate approximation of the Pareto front, trading off drive and levitation force components in a comb-drive electrostatic microactuator, was found. Research limitations/implications -More in-depth models of MEMS devices could be obtained by simulating multi-domain physical processes, i.e. encompassing a coupled-field analysis in the multiphysics sense. Originality/value -Under this framework, the proposed approach lays the ground for a very general method devoted to the optimal shape design of any MEMS configuration; in fact, the application of multiobjective optimizations to these kind of devices is quite new. Design, optimization, and computational mechatronicsOptimization plays a key role in the design of any structure or system, and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) are no exception (Di Barba and Lorenzi, 2013). The issue is to find a design space for a device which will satisfy the performance specifications. Often, they include several design criteria which cannot all be met at the

A high-efficiency micromixing effect by pulsed AC electrothermal flow

“…The successful progress in the microelectronic industry has motivated researchers in different fields such as optics (Tarparelli et al, 2014) mechanics (Chereches et al, 2015;Napieralska-Juszczak et al, 2016), fluidics and biology (Ostroushko et al, 2017;Ou et al, 2013;Poorreza et al, 2013;Lu et al, 2015) to apply the integration techniques with the hope of cost-effectiveness and high-performance enhancement. The viscosity effect, which is a dominant factor in microdevices and mixing process, is remarkably troublesome in micro scale.…”

Piezoelectrically programmable electric-field driven LC (ELC) resonators acting as THz modulators

“…On the other hand, RF micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) (Lucyszyn, 2010;Napieralski et al, 2012) are deemed essential to offer the required advanced bandwidth tunability. Among them, thermal and electrostatic RF-MEMS, like curved membranes, comb drives, and cantilevers, have been widely exploited to design programmable metamaterials (Tao et al, 2011;Preisner et al, 2011;He et al, 2011;Bouyge et al, 2011;Zhu et al, 2012;Chereches et al, 2015). Specifically, split-ring resonator arrangements have been profitably proposed (Lalas et al, 2014), yielding a reconfigurable mu-negative performance, where the MEMS component is only a part of the resonator.…”