Theoretical analysis of postbuckling behavior with experimental validation using electrothermal microbeams

A comprehensive theoretical and experimental investigation of the postbuckling behavior of beams is presented. A nonlinear equation representing thermal postbuckling of beams is solved by deriving a closed-form solution. The proposed analytical method offers a simple yet efficient way to analyze the postbuckling behavior of microbeam structures. Measurements using electrothermal microbeams are performed to validate the theoretical model, and are shown to be superior to conventional measurement techniques. Excellent agreements between exact solutions and experimental results prove the validity of our theoretical analysis, and the potential for applying the proposed method to postbuckling behavior in the field of microelectromechanical systems.