Full custom MEMS design: A new method for the analysis of motion-dependent parasitics

Due to the lack of sophisticated component libraries for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), highly optimized MEMS sensors are currently designed using a polygon-driven design flow. The advantage of this design flow is its accurate mechanical simulation, but it lacks a method for analyzing the dynamic parasitic electrostatic effects arising from the electric coupling between (stationary) wiring and structures in motion. In order to close this gap, we present a method that enables the parasitics arising from in-plane, sensor-structure motion to be extracted quasi-dynamically. With the method's structural-recognition feature we can analyze and optimize dynamic parasitic electrostatic effects.