On-wafer stiffness and displacement measurements of freestanding MEMS structures

Author

Maggini, R. ; Gueissaz, F. ; Piguet, D. ; Mignot, J.P.

Author_Institution

R & D Labs., ASULAB SA, Marin, Switzerland

Volume

2

fYear

2002

fDate

2002

Firstpage

849

Abstract

An original experimental method is presented for measuring the stiffness and displacement characteristics of small size freestanding mechanical elements on actual MEMS devices. This setup allows, using analytic and finite-element method mechanical calculations, the extraction of the elastic modulus of the materials used in such mechanical elements, thus eliminating the need of special integrated test structures. The setup has, respectively, a force and displacement measurement accuracy better than 1 μN and 50 nm. Its application is demonstrated by the characterization of a MEMS magnetostatic switch.

Keywords

displacement measurement; elastic moduli measurement; force measurement; force sensors; micromechanical devices; microswitches; reed relays; 50 nm; FEM; MEMS magnetostatic switch; displacement characteristics; elastic modulus; finite-element method; force sensor; freestanding MEMS structures; measurement accuracy; mechanical calculations; microreed switch; on-wafer displacement measurements; on-wafer stiffness measurements; stiffness characteristics; Displacement measurement; Finite element methods; Force measurement; Magnetic materials; Magnetoelasticity; Materials testing; Mechanical variables measurement; Microelectromechanical devices; Micromechanical devices; Size measurement;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Sensors, 2002. Proceedings of IEEE

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7454-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICSENS.2002.1037218

Filename

1037218