Problem-oriented modeling of microtransducers: State of the art and future challenges

Abstract The development and production of well-performing and inexpensive microsensors, actuators or complete microsystems are largely determined by intricate trade-off considerations. Optimum performance requires a judicious design based on a detailed understanding of the physical phenomena which govern the operation of single system components as well as their cooperation. To this purpose, modeling and numerical simulation are regarded as increasingly useful or even as indispensable. Problem-oriented modeling does not only reduce the number of costly and time-consuming experimental trial-and-error steps, but it also lends unique insight into the interior of a miniaturized device showing the distributions of various physical quantities which are not readily accessible to experiments. Future work has mostly to concentrate on a user-friendly modular ‘CAD tool box’ based on the concepts of ‘tailored modeling’. This implies not only modern flexible software techniques and highly efficient computational methods, but in particular new methodologies for fast and reliable model validation and the availability of a process-oriented material-property data base.