Feasibility of micro power supplies for MEMS

Author

Koeneman, Paul B. ; Busch-Vishniac, Ilene J. ; Wood, Kristin L.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. Eng., Texas Univ., Austin, TX, USA

Volume

6

Issue

4

fYear

1997

fDate

12/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

355

Lastpage

362

Abstract

Most microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) designed today use macroscopic power supplies, thereby placing limits on the functionality of MEMS in many applications. An alternative to this approach is to design MEMS with integral microscopic distributed power supplies. This paper examines the feasibility of creating micro power supplies by considering three functions common to MEMS power systems: (1) capture energy; (2) store energy; and (3) drive actuation, of these, only the capture energy function is highly dependent on the specific application. For each of the three functions, a table is presented which compares various means of performing the function. This information makes it possible to determine what design alternatives are feasible for the creation of a micro power supply for any specific application of MEMS. We use smart bearings with active surface features as an example application and develop a design for a micro power supply suitable for this work

Keywords

micromechanical devices; power supplies to apparatus; MEMS; active surface; drive actuation; energy capture; energy storage; integral microscopic distributed power supply; micro power supply; microelectromechanical system; smart bearing; Actuators; Control systems; Energy capture; Microelectromechanical devices; Microelectromechanical systems; Micromechanical devices; Microscopy; Power supplies; Sensor arrays; Silicon;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1057-7157

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/84.650133

Filename

650133