Study of methods for measuring mechanical properties of thin films in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

Abstract

Novel stress measurement methods for determining both tensile and compressive stress and Young's modulus in surface micromachining are presented by investigating two techniques: (1) Beam Pull-in Voltage (V/sub PI/) and (2) Long Beam Deflection (LBD). Both tensile and compressive stress and Young's modulus of thin film can be derived by use of the V/sub PI/ method. In the LBD method, axial strain of beams can be converted into large transverse deflection which can be measured easily. These techniques have been analyzed, tested experimentally and comparison with other known stress measurement techniques show good consistency. Both techniques have been shown to be quite promising for simple and accurate on-chip thin-film stress measurements.