Amorphous to crystalline phase transitions in phase change materials (PCM) can have strong influence on the actuation of microelectromechanical systems under the influence of Casimir forces. Indeed, the bifurcation curves of the stationary equilibrium points and the corresponding phase portraits of the actuation dynamics between gold and AIST (Ag 5 In 5 Sb 60 Te 30 ) PCM, where an increase of the Casimir force of up ~25% has been measured upon crystallization, show strong sensitivity to changes of the Casimir force as the stiffness of the actuating component decreases and/or the effective interaction area of the Casimir force increases, which can also lead to stiction. However, introduction of intrinsic energy dissipation (associated with a finite quality factor of the actuating system) can prevent stiction by driving the system to attenuated motion towards stable equilibrium depending on the PCM state and the system quality factor.
Here, we investigate the dynamical sensitivity of electrostatic torsional type microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) on the optical properties of interacting materials. This is accomplished by considering the combined effect of mechanical Casimir and electrostatic torques to drive the device actuation. The bifurcation curves and the phase portraits of the actuation dynamics have been analyzed to compare the sensitivity of a single beam torsional device operating between materials with conductivities that differ by several orders of magnitude. It is shown that the range of stable operation of torsional MEMS against stiction instabilities can increase by decreasing the conductivity of interacting materials. Moreover, the introduction of controlled dissipation, corresponding to a finite quality factor, in an otherwise unstable torsional system, could alter an unstable motion towards stiction to dissipative stable motion. Published by AIP Publishing.
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