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Design a new MEMS tunable capacitors using electro-thermal actuators

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Abstract

This paper presents a new structure for the Micro-electromechanical capacitors with high capacitance and tuning range. The obvious feature of the proposed capacitor is the use of a thermal actuator to change the dielectric coefficient of capacitor. In this work, BaTiO3 is used as a dielectric. Due to its high dielectric coefficient, BaTiO3 increases the capacitance in this structure. Another characteristic of this material is that it changes the dielectric coefficient linearly in a specified temperature range. Through this work, given the thermal properties of the dielectric, a variable capacitor with a wide tuning range is made using a heater as a thermal actuator. The proposed variable capacitor has a one-piece structure and removes problems such as the pull-in effects completely by eliminating the moving parts. The results show that the tuning range of the proposed capacitor is about 600 % and its capacitance density is equal to 41.66 μF cm−2. This capacitor can be used in the MEMS telecommunication systems, particularly radars that require high capacity with too small sizes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Arman Delpasand Motlagh Shirazi, Mahdiyeh Mehran & Ahmad Hakimi

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

    Rasoul Faraji

Authors
  1. Arman Delpasand Motlagh Shirazi
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  2. Rasoul Faraji
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  3. Mahdiyeh Mehran
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  4. Ahmad Hakimi
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Correspondence to Arman Delpasand Motlagh Shirazi.

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Shirazi, A.D.M., Faraji, R., Mehran, M. et al. Design a new MEMS tunable capacitors using electro-thermal actuators. Microsyst Technol 21, 2475–2483 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-015-2476-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-015-2476-9

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