A new method to determine the mechanical resonance frequency, quality factor and charging in electrostatically actuated MEMS

Abstract

In this paper, a novel technique to characterize MEMS is described. The technique is based on electric admittance measurements of electrostatically actuated MEMS. Characteristic parameters such as the unbiased (or true mechanical) resonance frequency, quality factor and charge dependent built-in voltage, are extracted from the measured admittance in a two-step computation procedure. The obtained parameters may serve as monitors of both mechanical and electrical changes in tested devices, what makes this technique suitable for reliability assessment of various types of electrostatically driven MEMS.