A new MEMS based variable capacitor using electrostatic vertical comb drive actuator and auxiliary cantilever beams

摘要

We have proposed a new wide tunable MEMS variable capacitor. In the proposed structure, an electrostatic vertical comb drive actuator is used to extend the tuning range. Moreover, the auxiliary cantilever-beams are used in the electrostatic comb drive actuator to delay the front sticking (Pull in) and increase the tunability. The effect of lateral gap distance between the fingers in the capacitance tunability is investigated. Not only a full review of electrostatic actuator portion is done but also the electric fields related to lateral gap changes are simulated by COMSOL software and its results are compared with theoretical results as well. The structure is calculated using MATLAB software. To verify, the calculated results are compared with simulated results using Intellisuite software. According to calculation and simulation results the achieved tuning range is 285%.