MEMS Closed-Loop Control Incorporating a Memristor as Feedback Sensing Element

In this brief, the integration of a memristor with a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) parallel plate capacitor coupled by an amplification stage is simulated. It is shown that the MEMS upper plate position can be controlled up to 95% of the total gap. Due to its common operation principle, the change in the MEMS plate position can be interpreted by the change in the memristor resistance or memristance. A memristance modulation of ~1 kΩ was observed. A polynomial expression representing the MEMS upper plate displacement as a function of the memristance is presented. Thereafter, a simple design for a voltage closed-loop control is presented, showing that the MEMS upper plate can be stabilized up to 95% of the total gap by using the memristor as a feedback sensing element. The memristor can play important dual roles in overcoming the limited operation range of MEMS parallel plate capacitors and in simplifying read-out circuits of those devices by representing the motion of the upper plate in the form of resistance change instead of capacitance change.

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