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The aim of this paper is to deal with multi-physics simulation of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) based on an advanced numerical methodology. MEMS are very small devices in which electric as well as mechanical and fluid phenomena appear and interact. Because of their microscopic scale, strong coupling effects arise between the different physical fields, and some forces, which were negligible at macroscopic scale, have to be taken into account. In order to accurately design such micro-electro-mechanical systems, it is of primary importance to be able to handle the strong coupling between the electric and the mechanical fields. In this paper, the finite element method (FEM) is used to model the strong coupled electro-mechanical interactions and to perform static and transient analyses taking into account large mesh displacements. These analyses will be used to study the behaviour of electrostatically actuated micro-mirrors., Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions (http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions)

MEMS devices are typical systems where multiphysics simulations are unavoidable. In this work, we present possible applications of 3-D self-assembled SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) MEMS such as, for instance, thermal actuators and flow sensors. The numerical simulations of these microsystems are presented. Structural and thermal parts have to be strongly coupled for correctly describing the fabrication process and for simulating the behavior of these 3-D SOI MEMS., Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions (http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions)