Design and Simulation of MEMS Electrostatic Resonator for Ammonia Gas Detection Based on SOIMUMPs

The analytical modeling, design, and simulation of micromachined MEMS resonator for ammonia gas detection is presented in this paper. The MEMS resonator is designed to be vibrated electrostatically using interdigitated comb fingers. The demonstrated device is designed to be capable to carry micro-ring resonator and vibrated in-plane laterally to enhance the sensitivity of the gas detection. This MEMS resonator working principle is based on the changes in the output signal wavelength due to the change in the effective refractive index introduced by the ammonia gas. The resonant frequency of the actuator and the pull-in voltage have been calculated theoretically and found to be 11.15 kHz and 79.7 V respectively. The design and simulation of the micromachined micro-resonator has been carried out using CoventorWare software. Furthermore, the mathematically modeled results were verified using the finite element analysis software and the result shows a good agreement within 1.06% error between the modeled and simulated frequencies where the modeled and the simulated frequencies are found to be 11.15 kHz and 11.27 kHz respectively.