Prestressed Micromirror
Application ID: 372
One method of creating spring-like structures or inducing curvature in thin structures is to plate them to substrates that are under the influence of residual stresses.
The plating process can control this stress even for similar materials. One such device is the electrostatically controlled micromirror. It is typically quite small, and arrays of such devices can be implemented in projectors.
This section shows the fundamentals of how to set up and solve the lift-off of a prestressed plated devices. The model shows the use of the large deformation and initial stress features in the MEMS Module.
This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
- COMSOL Multiphysics® and
- either the Acoustics Module, MEMS Module, Metal Processing Module, or Structural Mechanics Module and
- either the Acoustics Module, MEMS Module, Multibody Dynamics Module, or Structural Mechanics Module
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Specification Chart and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.