Program Desciption:
SUGAR is a simulation tool for MEMS devices based on nodal analysis techniques from the world of integrated circuit simulation. Beams, electrostatic gaps, circuit elements, etc. are modeled by small, coupled systems of differential equations.
In less than a decade, the MEMS community has leveraged nearly all the integrated-circuit community's fabrication techniques, but little of the wealth of simulation capabilities. A wide range of student and professional circuit designers regularly use circuit simulation tools like SPICE, while MEMS designers often resort to back-of-the-envelope calculations. For three decades, development of IC CAD tools has gone hand-in-hand with the development of IC processes. Tools for simulation will play a similar role in future advances in the design of complicated micro-electromechanical systems.
SUGAR inherits its name and philosophy from SPICE. A MEMS designer can describe a device in a compact netlist format, and very quickly simulate the device's behavior. Using simple simulations in SUGAR, a designer can quickly find problems in a design or try out new ideas. Later in the design process, a designer might run more detailed simulations to check for subtle second-order effects; early in the design, a quick approximate solution is key. SUGAR provides that quick solution.
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