Temperature field in a planar microreactor for genetic amplification and by a thin film heater.

In the last years I have specialized on the modelling and simulation as since these are the key aspects that determine whether a MEMS device will be affordable and useful.

Finite element analysis is my main tool as a MEMS designer. Using FEA I have designed several devices and modeled multi-physics problems that link structural mechanics, heat transfer, magnetism, electrostatics and electrodynamics. I have also explored simulation of diffusion and fluid mechanics. My designs include microfluidic systems, microvalves, electrostatic actuators/sensors and microthermoelectric systems that comprise materials such as polymers, glass and silicon. The fabricated devices performed reproducibly at the first try, demonstrating the predictive power of our modeling and simulation work. Recently I developed a method to automatically layout thin film heaters, which is based on FEA simulation and MATLAB. This project was a great success that materialized into two journal articles and a provisional patent.

In this work I have primarily used COMSOL and its LiveLink-for-MATLAB to automate simulation tasks. COMSOL provides sufficient 3D modelling capabilities for the modelling of MEMS devices and has specific modules for MEMS and microfluidics.

Why FEM simulation is so important in MEMS ?

FEM simulation is often the only way to know what will happens inside a MEMS device before it is fabricated. MEMS are so small that an attempt to measure physical quantity in them, such as temperature, may disturb or destroy the device. The measured quanitites, such as force or displacement, so may be so small that can be very difficult to measure. However, tThrough simulation we can study aspects of the physical world that cannot be observed by experiment.

Simulated and fabricated thermal system of a genetic analys lab-on-chip platform