Study on a MEMS fatigue testing device based on the resonance principle

A novel MEMS(micro-electro-mechanical system) fatigue testing device based on the electrostatic force by comb driver is proposed, which can be fabricated by means of the typical surface micromachining technology. The capacitance and the electrostatic force are analyzed theoretically for the proposed arc-shaped comb driver. The vibrating process of device is simulated utilizing the electromechanical coupled-field element by ANSYS. The simulation results show a good correction with the theoretical prediction. The results indicated that the stress of sample can achieve the required level for MEMS fatigue testing under AC voltage. In addition, the range of the used AC voltage is also evaluated.