An overview of recent progress in the research and development of microelectromechanical devices for use in wireless communication sub-systems is presented. Among the specific devices described are tunable micromachined capacitors, integrated high-Q inductors, low loss micromechanical switches

of partial differential equations and boundary conditions for microelectromechanical device modelling is created. Mechanically complex devices have been modelled for system-level simulation using this technique.

With progressing monolithic integration of entire micro-electromechanical systems on one chip fabricated by stan-dard IC technology we have to cope with the problem that the operation of embedded transducer elements is considerably affected by cross-coupling and parasitic effects. Referring to a Bi

Simulation blocks of micromechanical sensors and actuators modelling their dynamic electromechanical and fluidic operation are presented. Due to the electrical equivalent circuit realization the sensor system simulations in the frequency and time domains are possible. A sample library containing parameterized building blocks of inertial sensors is constructed. These component blocks include models for mass-spring systems, capacitance, electrostatic force and gas-film damping in the air gap. The sample library is written in the modelling language of the circuit simulation program APLAC. As an example, an accelerometer model is constructed of the components in the sample library, and its characteristics are simulated in the frequency and time domains.

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The effective electrical gap between two conducting surfaces sandwiching a thin dielectric layer varies with applied voltage and pressure. Improved methods for measuring and modeling this variation are presented. Optical surface profile measurements of fixed-fixed beams, and capacitance-voltage measurements of a centertethered structure that eliminates zipping are shown. A compressible contact surface model is used in 2-D simulations of electrostatically actuated beams to capture the surface effects. The simulation fit is good at low voltages but deteriorates at higher voltages. Substrate curvature and electronic effects are investigated but found to be negligible.

ABSTRACT An array of 44 resistance temperature sensors with a radial resolution of 35 µm was fabricated around a re-entrant cavity (3 µm mouth diameter) on a thin silicon diaphragm with the intended purpose of obtaining highly resolved spatial and temporal measurements of the wall surface temperature during the boiling process. An Argon ion laser beam was used to provide a constant net flux of thermal energy to the backside of the diaphragm underneath the cavity and sensor area. This microsystem initiates and grows a single bubble at the center of the radial sensor array; all while the temperature variation underneath the bubble region during growth, departure, and rewetting is being measured with a frequency of 10 kHz. A highspeed CCD camera capable of taking over 3700 pictures per second is used to monitor the growth rate and departure process of the bubble from the surface, and correlated with the surface temperature measurement. The resulting temperature data can then be used to calculate the variation of the heat transfer coefficient under the bubble during the process of growth, departure, and rewetting. This experimental study provided unique experimental data to evaluate varieties of theories and speculations about the dynamics of bubbling at a microscale level. The focus of the current paper is on the details of the apparatus development and fabrication.

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An overview of recent progress in the research and development of microelectromechanical devices for use in wireless communication sub-systems is presented. Among the specific devices described are tunable micromachined capacitors, integrated high-Q inductors, low loss micromechanical switches

New design tools and automation strategies are needed to create robust, cost-effective, and manufacturable micromachined devices and systems. Some of the design automation issues include mixed-technology simulation, material property prediction in the micron-size regime, self-consistency in coupled