A perturbation method for the 3D finite element modeling of electrostatically driven MEMS

In this paper, a finite element (FE) procedure for modeling electrostatically actuated MEMS is presented. It concerns a perturbation method for computing electrostatic field distortions due to moving conductors. The computation is split in two steps. First, an unperturbed problem (in the absence of certain conductors) is solved with the conventional FE method in the complete domain. Second, a perturbation problem is solved in a reduced region with an additional conductor using the solution of the unperturbed problem as a source. When the perturbing region is close to the original source field, an iterative computation may be required. The developed procedure offers the advantage of solving sub-problems in reduced domains and consequently of benefiting from different problem-adapted meshes. This approach allows for computational efficiency by decreasing the size of the problem.