An Electro-Thermal MEMS Variable Capacitor

A new wide tunability MEMS based variable capacitor using two separate electro-static vertical comb drive actuators

“…Thermally and piezoelectrically actuated devices provide great motion control. Very linear variable capacitors can be obtained this way, and a few have been reported [13][14][15][16]. However, some of the major concerns are the hysteresis in actuation motion, power consumption, and response time.…”