ON-CHIP MEASUREMENT OF CAPACITANCE FOR MICRO-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SYSTEM (MEMS) ACTUATOR CIRCUIT

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) actuator circuit and method. The circuit includes a current mirror, a voltage divider having an interior contact and coupled between the mirror output and a potential, an operational amplifier having an input coupled to the interior contact and a switch having input/output contacts separately coupled to the amplifier output and the mirror input and having a switch control. The amplifier output can be coupled to a digital control circuit which can be coupled to the switch control contact and to a digital to analog circuit (DAC) which can be coupled to the digital control circuit and to another amplifier input. An enable signal at the switch control couples the switch input/output contacts together. The capacitance of a MEMS capacitor coupled to the mirror output is determined by measurement of time for the amplifier output to switch from one level to another following a change in DAC output potential.