Dynamics of a Canonical Electrostatic MEMS/NEMS System

Dr. Shangbing Ai

Department of Mathematical Sciences
University of Alabama in Huntsville

September 8, 2006
202 Madison Hall
3:30 (Coffee and Cookies at 3:00)

Abstract

Designing small structures necessitates an a priori understanding of various device behaviors. The way to gain such understanding is to construct, analyze, and interpret the proper mathematical model. Through such models, modeling microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) illuminates microscale and nanoscale phenomena, thereby facilitating the design and optimization of micro- and nanoscale devices.

The mass-spring model of electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems or nanoelectromechanical systems is pervasive in the MEMS and NEMS literature. Nonetheless a rigorous analysis of this canonical model has remained primitive. In this talk, we shall discuss recent results (from a joint work with John Pelesko at the University of Delaware) on periodic solutions of the model, in which ranges of the dimensionless average applied voltage and dimensionless frequency of voltage variation are identified such that periodic solutions exist as well as parameter ranges where such solutions fail to exist.