White Paper: MEMS Jumpstart Series: Preparing for Finite Element Analysis
Mentor Graphics: Abstract: How will a MEMS device perform in the real world that is full of stresses like motion, vibration, and temperature variations? An important aspect of making sure that a MEMS device works as expected out in the world is performing finite element analysis (FEA). FEA defines a mesh over the 3D model of a MEMS device, breaking down the complex problem of computing the effects of physical forces into finite elements. The underlying physics are computed for each finite element in order to build up a complex equation that then simulates the physical effects on the entire design. In this paper, a tunable optical filter is studied in order to explore preparation considerations for FEA.