Electro-thermal simulation of MEMS elements

In this paper we present a new algorithm, developed for the layout based electro-thermal simulation of integrated circuits and MEMS. The method uses simultaneous iteration of the thermal and electrical behavior. The general advantage of this method over simulator coupling is that, it is also suitable to cope with very fast changes. The usual drawback is however, that the thermal nodes have to be added to the nodes of the electrical network, rendering usually huge networks to be simulated. In our thermal modeling method the thermal system is represented by a matrix of Foster networks. The solution of these can be partly pre-calculated, partly separated from the solution of the electrical nodes, resulting in fast and accurate electro-thermal simulation. Case studies are presented to show the applicability of the method for the analysis of thermally operated MEMS elements. The results of the electro-thermal simulation of a realized MEMS electro-thermal converter show very good matching with the results measured on the structure.