In order to efficiently design complex microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) having large numbers of multi-domain components, a hierarchically structured design approach that is compatible with standard IC design is needed. A graphical-based schematic, or structural, view is presented as a geometrically intuitive way to represent MEMS as a set of interconnected lumpedparameter elements. An initial library focuses on suspended-MEMS technology from which inertial sensors and other mechanical mechanisms can be designed. The schematic representation has a simulation interface enabling the designer to simulate the design at the component level. Synthesis of MEMS cells for common topologies provides the system designer with rapid, optimized component layout and associated macro-models. A synthesis module is developed for the popular folded-flexure micromechanical resonator topology. The algorithm minimizes a combination of total layout area and voltage applied to the electromechanical actuators. Synthesis results clearly show the design limits of behavioral parameters such as resonant frequency for a fixed process technology.

We report the development of a first implementation of the MEMCAD system (version 1.0). The system is composed of three commercial mechanical CAD software packages integrated with our specialize structure generation and electrostatic analysis programs. In this paper we describe the system and demonstrate its capabilities using a comb drive example constructed directly from a description of its mask set. We received the file from U.C.Berkeley[1]. The analysis of the comb drive takes just a few hours, all the way from generating a full' 3D model from mask descriptions to calculating comb levitation forces.

I thank my advisor Dr. Tamal Mukherjee for his constant guidance and encouragement. I am also thankful to Prof. Gary Fedder for his useful suggestions in a number of aspects of the work. I thank Steve Eagle for releasing the fabricated devices, Hasnain Lakdawala for help with the measurements and all the other students in the MEMS research group for stimulating discussions from time to time. elsewhere. I also acknowledge the invaluable support of my family and my friends in Pittsburgh and