As MEMS find application niches in an increasingly wider range of systems and platforms, nonstandard methods of device excitation are being explored as a means to achieve the desired sensor or actuator functionality. One such nonstandard method, chaotic excitation, has been used as a research tool to understand nonlinear behavior in microsystems. An extension of this work involves the use of chaotic excitation and other nonlinear phenomena to provide detailed device state information, and to enhance device operation. In order to fully understand how a MEMS device will behave under chaotic excitation, a Veeco Instruments Wyko NT1100 optical profilometer with dynamic MEMS (DMEMS) measurement capability has been used to observe the motion of a chaotically excited lateral comb resonator (LCR) device. This briefing presents theoretical modeling results based on measured parameter values that are validated by experimentally measured chaotic displacement data. Methods of using this chaotic output data for pre-packaging and in situ MEMS fault detection are discussed. The application of chaotic driving schemes to improve the sensitivity of MEMS-based inertial and chemical sensors is briefly discussed as well.

Date Published: 31 March 2006
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 6172, Smart Structures and Materials 2006: Smart Electronics, MEMS, BioMEMS, and Nanotechnology, 617219 (31 March 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.658534

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6172:
Smart Structures and Materials 2006: Smart Electronics, MEMS, BioMEMS, and Nanotechnology
Vijay K. Varadan, Editor(s)