Design for Reliability and Robustness through Probabilistic Methods in COMSOL Multiphysics with OptiY

One challenge in designing micro- electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) is conside- ring the variability of design parameters caused by manufacturing tolerances and material proper- ties. The function of MEMSs is significantly influenced by this variability, which can be re- presented in terms of statistical variables. In order to involve statistical design parameters into the design optimization process we use probabi- listic approaches. Monte Carlo Sampling, Res- ponse Surface, and Moment methods will be described. We applied the methods to a thin-film resonator as an example to show how to analyze the influence of scattering design parameters on the behavior of the resonator. We used a COMSOL Multiphysics model, which computes the first resonance frequency. For performing the probabilistic simulation, the model is coupled to OptiY via a script interface.