Resonant Drive Techniques for Electrostatic Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS): A Comparative Study

Electrostatic actuation is widely employed in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) due to its distinct advantages. However, it requires high voltage, typically provided by a power supply and a high voltage amplifier, which is limited in gain, especially at high frequencies. Various methods have been proposed to amplify the voltage signal fed into the system by coupling it in series to an LC tank circuit. In this work, we analyze and compare three methods, resonance matching, multi-frequency excitation, and amplitude modulation. We also compare their performance to that of a voltage amplifier. We demonstrate that resonant circuits significantly enhance performance, offering a more effective solution for high-frequency MEMS actuation.