Stress-induced curvature engineering in surface-micromachined devices

Vladimir A. Aksyuk; Flavio Pardo; David J. Bishop

doi:10.1117/12.341167

10 March 1999 Stress-induced curvature engineering in surface-micromachined devices

Vladimir A. Aksyuk, Flavio Pardo, David J. Bishop

Proceedings Volume 3680, Design, Test, and Microfabrication of MEMS and MOEMS; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.341167
Event: Design, Test, and Microfabrication of MEMS/MOEMS, 1999, Paris, France

Abstract

Residual stress and stress gradients play an important role in determining equilibrium shape and behavior of various Si surface-micromachined devices under applied loads. This is particularly true for system having large-area plates and long beams where curvature resulting from stress can lead to significant deviations from stress-free shape. To gain better understanding of these properties, we have measured the equilibrium shapes of various structures built on the MCNC MUMPs using an interferometric profiler. The structures were square plates and long beams composed of various combinations of polysilicon an oxide layers. Some of the structures had additional MUMPs metal layer on top, while on others in-house chromium-gold stacks of varying thickness have been deposited. Temperature dependence of the curvature was measured for some plates. We have used these data in conjunction with simple models to significantly improve the performance of our micromachined devices. While for some structures such as large area reflectors the curvature had to be minimized, it could be advantageously exploited by others, for example vertical actuators for self-assembly.

Citation Download Citation

Vladimir A. Aksyuk, Flavio Pardo, and David J. Bishop "Stress-induced curvature engineering in surface-micromachined devices", Proc. SPIE 3680, Design, Test, and Microfabrication of MEMS and MOEMS, (10 March 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.341167

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available