Influence of surface energy on the pull-in instability of electrostatic nano-switches

Fan Yang, Gang-Feng Wang, Jian-Min Long, Bao-Lin Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In the present paper, we analyze the influence of surface energy on the pull-in instability of a cantilever-type nano-switch. The deformation of the movable nanosized electrode is described by the Euler-Bernoulli beam accounting for surface energy and the core–shell model. The interactions between two electrodes are depicted by such intermolecular forces as Casimir force, van der Waals force and electrostatic force. Through the principle of minimum potential energy, the differential equation governing the beam deformation, as well as the boundary conditions, is derived. Then using the homotopy perturbation method, the deformation and the pull-in voltage of nano-switch are analyzed. It is found that surface effects evidently affect the pull-in voltage of nano-switch, and the present model predicts the increase of pull-in voltage compared to the classical results. These results are helpful to design and calibrate nano-switches in NEMS.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-5
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience
Volume10
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Keywords

  • nanostructured materials
  • surface energy

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