EE 245 / NEEM 6441: Introduction to MEMS Design

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Project:

All students must complete a design project in order to complete this course. The project will entail design of a MEMS device/system of your choosing to be fabricated in a standard process.  More details will be available around the time of the midterm conference call.  A detailed project write-up will be due at the end of the semester by Friday, April 13.

Project Milestones:

  • Two project proposals (at least one paragraph) are due with HW3 on 3/1.
  • Detailed outline is due with HW5 on 3/29.
  • Final report (at least 4 pages) along with one or more layout files is due by Friday, April 13.

Project Ideas: Your project should entail some theory, design, and layout (of test structures and/or your device). You're encouraged to try something interesting to you - it can relate to your work outside of class, a question you found interesting during class, or something you think would be fun. I've included a couple project ideas to stimulate the creative juices, and a writeup on MEMS resonator projects is available here.

  • Nonlinear springs for electrostatic gap closing actuators.
  • New ideas for electrostatic motors - rotary inchworm for example.
  • New ideas for mechanical versions of electrical components - mechanical voltage pump or DAC for example - there is already some stuff out there.

Report: The final report should be 4 pages long and is due at the end of the semester on Friday, 4/13. Your report should include the following sections:

  • Introduction: describes what you're trying to do and compares your attempt to related previous work
  • Design: describes fabrication method chosen and theory/analysis done to support design decisions
  • Test Structures: describes the design of several test structures which will help determine the performance of subcomponents of your system/device.
  • Expected Results: to describe the expected performance of your test structures and your overall system/device - normally this would be reserved for real results
  • Discussion/Conclusion: summarizes your results, why they are so awesome, and what you would do next