Electrostatic

Transducers

Outline

• Introduction
p
• Basic Capacitor Configurations
g
– Parallel Plate
– Interdigitated Drive
• Applications
pp examples
p
– sensors
– actuators
• Analysis
y of electrostatic actuator
– second order effect - “pull in” effect
 Introduction

A capacitor is made of two conductors that can hold opposite charges.

It can be used as a sensor or an actuator.

If the distance and relative position between two conductors is changed, the capacitance
value will change Æ capacitive sensing

If a voltage
l iis applied
li d across two conductors,
d an electrostatic
l i force
f would
ld develop
d l
between two objects Æ electrostatic actuation

Microactuation: micro-devices have large g surface area to volume ratio,, and having
g small masses
makes electrostatic forces attractive for actuation…

Electrostatically driven micromotor

Earliest MEMS actuator….

A rotor is attached to a substrate with a hub, and a set of fixed electrodes, called stators are on
the periphery…
simult.)) Æ this develops and in-plane
The stators are grouped with each of 4 electrodes (biased simult
electric field between any stator electrode in the biased group and the closest rotor tooth next to
it Æ generates an electrostatic force that alignes (rotates) the tooth with the stator electrode…
torque values are on the order of pico Nm for 100 V biasing Æ overcomes friction…
The bias is shifted to the next group of stator electrodes Æ another small rotation
rotation… As you shift
the biasing to the groups, you achieve rotation…
Some drawbacks:
-High voltage necessary for actuation Æ DMD mirrors need 25 V for 7.5 degree rotation
Other applications may need higher voltage…

Fundamental configuration of electrostatic transducers…

A parallel plate capacitor consists of two parallel conducting plates…

Example: TIs DMD chip: large arraiy micro-mirrors that serve as binary light switches…
Each mirror is a reflective plate and can rotate about a torsional hinge Æ applying a bias voltage
to electrodes under the mirror can rotate via electrostatic forces…
 Charge stored in media
Capacitance between
two plates
Electrostatic potential

Electric energy
stored in the capacitor
For a p
parallel plate
p capacitor,
p , electric field lines
are parallel to each other and perpendicular to plate
surfaces.
Magnitude of
electric field Fringe electric fields reside outside the boundary
of the plates Æ fringe lines are 3D…

ε Æ permittivity of media between plates (relative value times

the permittivity in vacuum)

E.d gives the voltage…

In reality, the parallel plates can move by normal

The magnitude of electrostatic attraction force generated equals the
displaccement or by sliding displacement…
gradient of the stored electrical energy with respect to a dimension…
Idea: by measuring the capacitance value, we can sense
The changes
g in in permittivity,
p y, d or A…

Permittivity can be modulated by temperature and

If one plate is suspended and can be moved along the normal axis, the gap Humidity Æ widely used for sensing liquid, gases or biological
between electrodes changes Æ short range force that can be used for materials…
movements of a few micrometers Æ upper limit give by breakdown of
dielectric media… The capacitor
Th i can be b usedd to generate force
f or displacement
di l if at
Least one of the plates is suspended or deformable…

Basic Principles for transducers…

• Sensing
– capacitance between moving and fixed plates change as
• distance and position is changed
• media is replaced
• Actuation
– electrostatic force (attraction) between moving and fixed
plates
l t as
• a voltage is applied between them.

• Two major configurations Interdigitated finger configuration

– parallel plate capacitor (out of plane)
– interdigitated fingers - IDT (in plane)
A d

Parallel plate configuration

 Examples

• Parallel Plate Capacitor

p
• Comb Drive Capacitor

Parallel Plate Capacitor (summary)

A d

Fringe
g electric field
(ignored in first order Q
analysis) C=
V
E = Q / εA
Q εA
C= =
Q
d d
εA
– Equations without considering fringe electric field.
– A note on fringe electric field: The fringe field is frequently ignored
in first-order analysis. It is nonetheless important. Its effect can be
captured
p accurately
y in finite element simulation tools.
 Fabrication Methods
• Surface micromachining
• Wafer bonding
• 3D assembly

Flip and
bond

Movable
vertical plate

Forces of Capacitor Actuators (summary)

1 1 Q2
• Stored energy E = CV 2 =
2 2 C

• Force is derivative of energy with F = ∂E = 1 ∂C V 2

respect to pertinent dimensional ∂d 2 ∂d
variable
• Plug in the expression for capacitorC = Q = εA
Q d
d
εA
∂E 1 εA 2 1 CV 2
• We arrive at the expression for F= =− V = −
force ∂d 2 d2 2 d
 For transducing purposes, one plate is deformable supported by springs.
We need to know how to calculate the displacement under static (DC) and quasi-static (AC)
biasing conditions.

Top plate is supported by spring (Km) and is movable.

At rest, applied voltage, displacement and mechanical restoring force are all zero.

Gravitational forces are ignored…

When a voltage is applied, an electrostatic force develops.. This force

tends to decrease the gap Æ gives rise to displacement and restoring
force

For an electrostatic actuator, the magnitude of the force itself

is a function of displacement, and this also modifies the spring
constant Æ The spatial gradient of the electric force is defined as
th electrical
the l t i l spring t t Æ magnitude
i constant it d changes
h with
ith d andd V

The effective spring constant of a structure equals the mechanical

spring constant minus the electrical spring constant…
Electrostatic force
at equilibrium
Equilibrium displacement of a spring supported plate under bias
voltage V is x, where x-axis is pointing to increasing gap distance…

With displacement Æ gap becomes d + x = x0 + x

Magnitude of the restoring force Æ

Equating both forces Æ

Quadratic equation representing distance

between two capacitor
p plates
p
 Interception points
are solutions to equation
4.11 in previous slide Æ eqm
positions of the movable plate

But the solution closest to the

rest point is the realistic one

Horizontal axis is space

p between two pplates and vertical axis is amplitude
p of mechanical or electrostatic forces.

The mechanical restoring force changes linearly with distance, and the electrical force changes quadratically…

Eqm position as a function of bias voltage Æ voltages V1,

V1 V2,
V2 V3..
V3
As the voltage increases, electric forces shift upwards Æ and the interception
points are moved farther away from the rest position
Pull-in voltage (Vp): at some voltage value, the two balancing force curves
Will intercept only at one point Æ beyond this voltage, the eqm solution disappears

The electrostatic force continues to increase and the restoring force cannot compensate,
so the plates will move until they make contact Æ snap in
 Equating two forces at Vp

Gradients of both curves at the intersection are identical

(plug in 4.12)

Only
O l solution
l i occurs suchh that h the
h relative
l i displacement
di l
of the parallel plate is exactly one third of the original spacing
at the pull-in voltage

Plug in 4.16 into 4.12

However, there are deviations from this idea model: fringe capactiance
Will change the expression of the electrostatic force. Also, the restoring
Force may become non-linear for large displacements..
 Relative Merits of Capacitor Actuators

Pros Cons
• Nearly universal sensing and • Force and distance inversely
actuation;
t ti no need
d ffor scaled
l d - to
t obtain
bt i llarger
special materials. force, the distance must be
• Low power. Actuation driven small.
by voltage, not current. • In some applications,
• High speed. Use charging vulnerable to particles as the
and discharging, therefore spacing is small - needs
realizing full mechanical packaging.
response speed. d • Vulnerable
V l bl tto sticking
ti ki
phenomenon due to
molecular forces.
• Occas
Occasionally,
o a y, sac
sacrificial
ca
release. Efficient and clean
removal of sacrificial
materials.

A fully integrated capacitive acceleration sensor Æ micromachined on Si with integerated CMOS (Peterson et al., 1982)
A metal coated oxide cantilever with a 0.35 μg electroplated gold patch as proof mass. Length: 108 microns, width: 25 microns, th: 0.46 microns
Counter electrode: heavily doped p-type Si
Capacitor gap is defined during processing via an epitaxially deposited Si layer

The total capacitance is given by

Wh L andd b are length

Where idth andd ε0 is
l th andd width, i the
th permittivity
itti it off th
the air
i medium.
di

Capacitance change is experimentally read using a simple impedance converter. The sensor above
Is capable of 2.2 mV/g of acceleration sensitivity, corresponding to a beam displacement of of
68 nm/g. and the mechanical resonance frequency of the cantilever is 22 kHz.
 Surface micromachining process
Thermal oxide forms the cantilever structure and and epi-Si is the sacrificial layer

Start with n-type Si (100) substrate

Use ion implantation

Form drain, source and electrical conduction
paths on the slopes of via hole

A heavily Boron doped region (p+, 1020 /cm3) is Use ion implantation Remove oxide barrier, and deposite
fabricated using an oxide as a mask for doping a fresh oxide (below) which serves
as dielectric insulator, cantilever,
and etching barrier)

A layer of metal is deposited next and

patterned providing electrical connects
An epi
epi-Si
Si layer with 0.5
0 5 ohm.cm
ohm cm resistivity is deposited to pp+ region, the electrode on top of
cantilever and contact to gate

A second oxide layer is deposited and patterned serving

as etch mask for a via hole and as a barrier for doping The metal layer consists of 20 nm Cr,
40 nm gold (Cr is adhesion layer)

A wet Si etch is performed to undercut

epi-Si beneath the oxide cantilever

Monolithic integration
g includes an interwoven pprocess flow
combining micromechanical elements with IC circuitry.

Such integrated processes could sometimes lead to reliability

problems due to material incompatibility.

IIntermediate
t di t high
hi h temperature
t t steps
t off oxide
id deposition
d iti could
ld
damage the dopant profiles (dopant diffusion)
 (Cole et al., 1991)

A flat Ni top plate is supported by torsion bars

Wafer has devices built in

Conducting electrode patches in wafer serve as

bottom electrodes. First, a conductive later (metal-1) is deposited
which is a seed layer

(metal-2) is deposited and patterned forming bottom electrode

Patterns Æ combined metal thickness is 5 microns. Patterning
is done next to reach the metal-1 later.

• 1 0 6 mm2, and
P f mass area 1x0.6
Proof d 5 μm thick.
thi k
• Net capacitance 150fF
• External IC signal processing circuits

• Mass of plate is 6.9x10-7 g

Ni is electroplated which determines the thickness of

movable layer. Metal-1 and metal-2 (sacrifical) are etched next

Counter electrodes are located on the substrate Etching is timed so that

surface. Since the plate weight is asymmetrically Metal-1 layer under the anchor stays
distributed, acceleration normal to substrate plane
will cause the top plate to rock in one direction

Sealed Cavity Pressure Sensor

 Capacitive Tactile
Sensors
• Sensitivity 0.13 pF/gram to
normal force, 0.32 pF/gram
to shear force.
force
• Spatial resolution 2.2 mm
 Deformable Mirrors for Adaptive Optics
• 2 μm surface normal stroke
• for a 300 μm square mirror, the displacement is 1.5
micron at approximately 120 V applied voltage
• T. Bifano, R. Mali, Boston University
(http://www.bu.edu/mfg/faculty/homepages/bifano.html)
 Optical Micro Switches

• Texas Instrument DLP • Torsional parallel plate

capacitor support
• Two
T stable
t bl positions
iti
(+/- 10 degrees with
respect to rest)
• All aluminum structure
• No process steps
entails temperature
above 300-350 oC.
 “Digital Light” Mirror Pixels

‹ Mirrors are on 17 μm
center-to-center spacing

p are 1.0 μ
‹ Gaps μm nominal

‹ Mirror transit time is

<20 μs from state to state

‹ Tilt Angles are minute at

±10 degrees

‹ Four mirrors equal the

width of a human hair

Digital Micromirror Device (DMD)

Mirror Mirror
-10 deg +10 deg

Hinge
CMOS
Yoke Substrate
3 Pixel Image
on Screen

Light Source Projection

Lens

Light
Absorber

3 DMD
Micromirrors
(Actual Top
View)

3 Pixel Image
on Screen

Light Source Projection

Lens

Light
Absorber

3 DMD
Micromirrors
(Actual Top
View)
 3 Pixel Image
on Screen

Light Source Projection

Lens

Light
Absorber

3 DMD
Micromirrors
(Actual Top
View)

DMD™ Pixel Exploded View

Mirror

Landing Tip Torsion Hinge

Mirror Layer

Mirror Address Yoke

Electrode
Yoke and
Yoke Address Via 2 Contact Hinge Layer
Electrode to CMOS

Metal-3
Bias/Reset Bus Layer
Landing Site

Memory Cell
(CMOS SRAM)
 DMD™ Process Flow

Details of DMD™ Superstructure Process

 (Pederson et al, J. MEMS, 1998)
Condenser microphone: pressure sensor for measuring acoustic pressure fronts created when sound waves travel through
air or liquid. Definition of strength of sound pressure is SPL (decibels or dbm or db).
P1 is the sound pressure and P0 is the reference value (a value of 0.0002 microbars is commonly used for air).
A condenser microphone consists of a parallel plate capacitor with two layers: one solid plate
(diaphragm) that moves under incoming acoustic waves; and a perforated plate that reduces amount
of plate deformation Æ value of capacitance will change due to incoming sounds waves
High resolution, high fidelity and miniature design depends on monolithoc integration Æ reduced noise

Fabrication consists of bulk and surface micromachining…

Active device regions are made in epitaxial p-type layers…

Both n and p channel FETs are made on the same substrate…
Each kind are shown at both ends of the device Æ

The polyimide layer is patternable over the metal layer. (Cr)

increases adhesion on both sides of the (Pt) interconnects.

Al is deposited and its thickness defines the gap of the capacitor.

On top of Al, Cr/Pt/Cr is deposited and patterned to form a
capacitor with perforation holes (see figure d).

Another layer of polyimide is deposited and patterned

A layer of Cr is deposited on the backside and patterned. DRIE

is used to etch through the backside of the wafer until the first
Cr/Pt/Cr multilayer is reached. Cr provides good etch selectivity.

The sacrifical Al layer is etched away, resulting in the final device.

The diaphragm exhibits a tensile intrinsic stress of 20MPa, which

keeps it flat. Its thickness is ~1.1 microns, and the backplate
thickness is 15 microns. The gap is about 3.6 microns. Membrane
area is 2.2 x 2.2 mm2, and the acoustic holes and their spacing
are 30x30
30 30 microns2
i 2 and
d 80 microns
i respectively.
ti l

The circuit features a Dickson type DC-DC voltage converter and a MOS buffer amplifier. The voltage converter
yields an output voltage of 14.3 V for an input voltage of 1.9 V. Sensitivity: 29 mV/Pa.
R di assignment:
Reading i t CCases 44.5
5 and
d 44.6.
6