Pull-In Instabilities in Functionally Graded Microthermoelectromechanical Systems

Abstract

We study pull-in instabilities in a functionally graded microelectromechanical system (MEMS) due to the heat produced by the electric current. Material properties of two-phase MEMS are assumed to vary continuously in the thickness direction. It is shown that the pull-in voltage strongly depends upon the variation through the thickness of the volume fractions of the two constituents. It is probably the first work to consider Joule's heating, dependence of the electric conductivity upon the temperature, and the gradation of material properties in studying the pull-in instability in micro-thermo-electro-mechanical plates.