A mixed-design technique for integrated MEMS using a circuit simulator with HDL

We report a multi-physics simulation and layout design technique for integrated-MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) based on an electrical circuit simulator. A solver for the mechanical equation of motion has been programmed in a Verilog-A compatible HDL (hardware description language) within the Cadence Virtuoso environment to attain new designing capabilities including automatic mask layout synthesis, DRC (design rule check), and LVS (layout-versus-schematic) verification for MEMS structures. Microelectromechanical components such as parallel-plate actuator and bending suspension are interpreted into HDL-coded equivalent circuits. Electrostatic displacement hysteresis is numerically simulated as a lumped mass-and-spring system and verified against the corresponding analytical simulation results. A multi-physics model for the Colpitts oscillator circuit has been built in the developed simulation environment, and its self-excited resonance has been confirmed by the simulation.