Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2020
Keywords
MEMS, Filter, Electrostatic Levitation, High Voltage
Abstract
Traditional MEMS filters use a comb drive structure that suffers from the pull- in instability, which places a significant limitation on the achievable signal-to- noise ration of the sensor. Because the output signal from a capacitive sensor
is linearly related to the applied voltage, it is desirable to use a capacitive sensor that can withstand large voltages upwards of 100V. However, the pull-in instability causes high voltages to destroy the device and a trade-off between performance and reliability must be made. Electrostatic levitation, which works by pulling electrodes apart instead of together, eliminates the pull-in instability and allows for very high voltages to be applied without damaging or destroying the sensor/actuator. This study theoretically and experimentally demonstrates that a filter based on electrostatic levitation eliminates the voltage limitation of the capacitive sensor, which has historically hampered the performance of the filter. A model of the filter is derived and validated with experimental data. Voltages up to 100V are applied without damaging the filter.
Publisher Attribution
Final version published in Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing (Elsevier), DOI 10.1016/j.ymssp.2020.107250.
Recommended Citation
Pallay, Mark; Miles, Ronald; and Towfighian, Shahrzad, "Towards a high bias voltage MEMS filter using electrostatic levitation" (2020). Mechanical Engineering Faculty Scholarship. 32.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/mechanical_fac/32
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.