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Objectives: Develop and demonstrate fully- integrated, FEM-based prototype solver capabilities to model behavior and fabrication process-dependency of MEMS devices. This will include capabilities to consider multi-physics and materials dependencies as well as other process induced factors--geometry effects due to deposition/etching. The overall tool integration strategy will be to develop and test key components that overcome limits currently seen to be "bottlenecks" in commercial systems. Application- specific lumped modeling will be developed and used to guide the overall direction of the CAD efforts, including improved parameter extraction schemes that cross-link device performance with layout parameters that can in turn support design (and hopefully optimization) of practical MEMS devices i.e., RF switch).
Objectives: Develop extraction schemes for materials properties using simplified MEMS test structures. In combination with the CAD tools efforts, the physical models (including microstructure) will be evaluated and modified as needed. The scope of material characterization efforts include both standard metal layers (possibly graded as well) and reliability issues such as plastic yield and fatigue. The extraction and validation steps for physical models is a key linking between the three sub-tasks.
Objectives: Design and implementation of MEMS structures, including materials parameter extraction, will be used to test the CAD and physical models based on MEMS devices of interest to DARPA. The experimental measurements made with these structures will facilitate the critical evaluation of models, physical parameters and overall simulation accuracy of CAD for MEMS devices. The test vehicles from this work also support canonical benchmarking of both new materials for MEMS and accuracy of Composite CAD in MEMS applications, specifically the RF switch. |