Mechanical response of electrostatic actuators under ESD stress

In this work, the mechanical response of electrostatic MEMS actuators during ESD stress has been measured and reported for the first time. The failure mechanism of the actuators during ESD has been studied and compared with failure under low frequency (~DC) voltage overstress. Electrical and mechanical failure modes have been distinguished and correlated to enable better understanding of the failure physics. Measuring the mechanical response during ESD stress tests has been demonstrated to be very important to characterize the reliability of electrostatic MEMS actuators. An experimental set-up for the same has been demonstrated and compared with a conventional ESD tester.