SUGAR

System-level simulation software for MEMS

Summary

SUGAR is a simulation package for MEMS whose name and heritage come from the SPICE family of circuit simulators. Like SPICE, SUGAR is a system-level simulation tool to allow designers to quickly test designs and run “what-if” experiments without the cost of a detailed simulation of device physics. SUGAR was originally developed by Jason Clark and Ningning Zhou at UC Berkeley in the late 1990s; I rewrote the system when I joined the project in the early 2000s. SUGAR is still available (and used!), though no longer maintained. Jason Clark developed a successor to SUGAR, the commercial SugarCube package; our work also inspired several other commercial tools.

Papers

J. Clark, D. Bindel, W. Kao, E. Zhu, A. Kuo, N. Zhou, J. Nie, J. Demmel, Z. Bai, S. Govindjee, K. S. J. Pister, M. Gu, and A. Agogino, “Addressing the Needs of Complex MEMS Design,” in Proceedings of MEMS 2002, 2002. 
@inproceedings{2002-mems,
  author = {Clark, Jason and Bindel, David and Kao, Wayne and Zhu, Ernest and Kuo, Andrew and Zhou, Ningning and Nie, Jiawang and Demmel, James and Bai, Zhaojun and Govindjee, Sanjay and Pister, Kristofer S. J. and Gu, Ming and Agogino, Alice},
  title = {Addressing the Needs of Complex {MEMS} Design},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of MEMS 2002},
  month = jan,
  year = {2002},
  doi = {10.1109/MEMSYS.2002.984240}
}

Abstract:

In this paper, we report several advances in the Sugar 2.0 MEMS system simulation package, including reduced-order modeling techniques, simple hierarchical description of complex structures, synthesis tools, a variety of models, and a web-based interface. Examples include the modeling of a torsional micromirror with lateral actuators compared to experiment, and the prototyping of a microrobot.

J. Clark, D. Bindel, N. Zhou, S. Bhave, Z. Bai, J. Demmel, and K. S. J. Pister, “SUGAR: Advancements in a 3D Multi-Domain Simulation Package for MEMS,” in Proceedings of the Microscale Systems: Mechanics and Measurements Symposium, 2001. 
@inproceedings{2001-sugar,
  author = {Clark, Jason and Bindel, David and Zhou, Ningning and Bhave, Sunil and Bai, Zhaojun and Demmel, James and Pister, Kristofer S. J.},
  title = {{SUGAR}: Advancements in a 3D Multi-Domain Simulation Package for {MEMS}},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the Microscale Systems:
                 Mechanics and Measurements Symposium},
  month = jun,
  year = {2001}
}

Abstract:

Advancements in Sugar include 1) parameterizable netlists, 2) nonlinear frequency response analysis, 3) subnets, 4) improved MNA, 5) reduced order modeling, and 6) a more accurate nonlinear beam model. Examples of these features include the simulation of a two-axis mirror with over 10,000 degrees of freedom, the reduced order modeling applied of an electrostatic gap actuator, the parameterized deflection space of a thermal actuator and serpentine flexure, and the nonlinear response of a fixed-fixed beam.

Z. Bai, D. Bindel, J. Clark, N. Zhou, J. Demmel, and K. S. J. Pister, “New Numerical Techniques and Tools in SUGAR for 3D MEMS Simulation,” in Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems (MSM), 2001. 
@inproceedings{2001-msm,
  author = {Bai, Zhaojun and Bindel, David and Clark, Jason and Zhou, Ningning and Demmel, James and Pister, Kristofer S. J.},
  title = {New Numerical Techniques and Tools in {SUGAR} for {3D MEMS} Simulation},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on
                 Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems (MSM)},
  month = mar,
  year = {2001}
}

Abstract:

SUGAR is a nodal analysis package for 3D MEMS simulation that owes its heritage and its name to the SPICE family of circuit simulation. SUGAR has undergone the stage of proof-of-concept which showed that nodal analysis was in fact just as accurate and much faster than finite element simulation on many MEMS problems. The upcoming major release of SUGAR is version 2.0, which includes a number of new features, such as 3D beam and gap elements, thermal expansion, linearly and rotationally accelerating frames, and user-defined models.

J. Clark, N. Zhou, D. Bindel, L. Schenato, W. Wu, J. Demmel, and K. S. J. Pister, “3D MEMS Simulation Modeling Using Modified Nodal Analysis,” in Proceedings of the Microscale Systems: Mechanics and Measurements Symposium, 2000, pp. 68–75. 
@inproceedings{2000-mems,
  author = {Clark, Jason and Zhou, Ningning and Bindel, David and Schenato, Luca and Wu, W. and Demmel, James and Pister, Kristofer S. J.},
  title = {{3D} {MEMS} Simulation Modeling Using Modified Nodal Analysis},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the Microscale Systems:
                 Mechanics and Measurements Symposium},
  pages = {68--75},
  month = jun,
  year = {2000}
}

Abstract:

The modeling, simulation, and experimental verification of several MEMS devices are presented. Simulated results include 3D mode analysis, residual stress effects, thermal expansion, nonlinear deflections, time-varying electrostatic forces, process sensitivities, induced currents, and the transient performance in accelerated reference frames. To simulate the performance of these MEMS devices a modified nodal analysis approach is used to formulate a system of ODEs that is solved by static, steady state, and transient solvers.

Talks

Tools for MEMS Simulation

CITRIS Meeting
mems pml rf-mems sugar • meeting local

Simulating RF MEMS

Bay Area Scientific Computing Day
mems rf-mems rom sugar • meeting external invited

SUGAR: A MEMS Simulation Program

Sun Microsystems
mems sugar • seminar external invited

SUGAR: A MEMS Simulation Program

MSM 2002
mems sugar • tutorial external

Simulating MicroElectroMechanical Systems

BSAC IAB meeting
mems sugar • tutorial local

Simulating MicroElectroMechanical Systems

UC Davis
mems sugar • seminar external invited

Simulating Microsystems

UC Berkeley LAPACK Seminar
mems sugar • seminar local