EC465 MEMS

Module 1
MEMS and Microsystems: Applications – Multidisciplinary nature of MEMS
– principles
Module 1 and examples of Micro sensors and micro actuators – micro
accelerometer –comb drives - Micro grippers –micro motors, micro valves,
micro
MEMSpumps and ,Microsystems:
Shape Memory Applications
Alloys. – Multidisciplinary nature of
MEMS of– Mechanical
Review principles concepts:
and examples of Micro
Stress, Strain, sensors
Modulus and micro
of Elasticity, yield
strength, – micro strength
actuators ultimate accelerometer –combstress
– General drivesstrain
- Micro grippers
relations –micro
– compliance
motors, Overview
matrix. micro valves, micro used
of commonly pumpsmechanical
, Shapestructures
Memoryin MEMS
Alloys. -
Beams, Cantilevers, Plates, Diaphragms – Typical applications

1
 Text Books
• Tai-Ran Hsu, MEMS and Microsystems Design and
Manufacture, TMH, 2002
• Chang Liu, Foundations of MEMS, Pearson 2012

2
 References
• Mark Madou, “Fundamentals of Micro fabrication”, CRC Press, New York,
1997
• Stephen D. Senturia, Microsystem design, Springer (India), 2006.
• Chang C Y and Sze S. M., “VLSI Technology”, McGraw-Hill, New York,
2000
• Julian W Gardner, “Microsensors: Principles and Applications”, John Wiley
& Sons, 1994
• Thomas B. Jones, Electromechanics and MEMS, Cambridge University
Press, 2001

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 What are MEMS?
Micro Electro Mechanical System

Integration of mechanical elements, sensors,

actuators and electronics on a common silicon
substrate through microfabrication technology

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• constructed to achieve a certain engineering function or functions by
electromechanical or electrochemical means
• contains components of sizes ranging from 1 µm to 1mm.

Available MEMS products include:

• Micro sensors (acoustic wave, biomedical, chemical, inertia, optical,
pressure, radiation, thermal, etc.)
• Micro actuators (valves, pumps and microfluidics; electrical and
optical relays and switches; grippers, tweezers and tongs; linear and
rotary motors, etc.)
• Read/write heads in computer storage systems.
• Inkjet printer heads.
• Micro device components (e.g., palm-top reconnaissance aircrafts,
mini robots and toys, micro surgical and mobile telecom equipment,
etc.)
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 Components
Microelectronics
• It receives, processes, and makes decisions
• data comes from microsensors
Microsensors
• constantly gather data from environment
• pass data to microelectronics for processing
• can monitor mechanical, thermal, biological,
chemical, optical, and magnetic readings
Microactuator
• acts as trigger to activate external device
• microelectronics will tell microactuator to activate device
Microstructures
• extremely small structures built onto surface of chip
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 How small are MEMS devices?
They can be of the size of a rice grain, or smaller!

Fig 1: Micro cars (Courtesy of Denso Research Laboratories, Denso Corporation,

Aichi, Japan)
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Fig 2: Inertia Sensor for Automobile “Air Bag” Deployment System
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Fig3: MEMS in Automobiles
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 MEMS
Core elements in MEMS
• A sensing or/and actuating element
• A signal transduction unit

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MEMS as microsensors

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MEMS as microactuators

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Microsystems

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Commercial MEMS and Microsystems Products

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Comparison of Microelectronics and Microsystems

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 The Multi-disciplinary Nature of Microsystems
Engineering

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 Working Principles of MEMS and
Microsystems
● Minute sensors are expected to detect a variety of signals associated with:
• Accelerations (velocity and forces),
Biological and biomedical Chemical,
• Forces (e.g., microaccelerometers and gyroscopes) Optical,
• Pressure,
• Thermal (temperatures), etc.

• Input samples may be: motion of a solid, pressurized liquids or gases,

• biological and chemical substances.

● Due to the minute sizes, microactuators work on radically different principles

than the conventional electromagnetic means, such as solenoids and ac/dc
motors.

Instead, electrostatic, thermal, piezoelectric and shape-memory alloys are

extensively used in microactuations.
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Working Principles for Microsensors

Power
Supply

Micro
Input Transduction Output
Sensing Unit
Signal Signal
Element

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 a) Acoustic Wave Sensors
Acoustic wave sensor does not related to the sensing of acoustic waves transmitted in
solids or other media, as the name implies.

Primary application of these sensors is to act like “band filters” in mobile telephones and
base stations.

Other applications include:

 2 sets of “Interdigital Transducers” (IDT)
 Sensing of torques and tire pressures are created on a piezoelectric layer attached
 Sensing biological and chemical substances to a tiny substrate as shown
 Sensing vapors, humidity and temperature  Energize by an AC source to the “Input IDT”
 Monitor fluid flow in microfluidics will close and open the gaps of the finger
electrodes, and thus surface deformation/
stresses transmitting through the piezo- electric
material
 The surface deformation/stresses will cause
the change of finger electrodes in the
“Output IDT”
 Any change of material properties (chemical
attacks) or geometry due to torques will alter
the I/O between the “Input IDT” and “Output
IDT.”
 The sensing of contact environment or
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pressure can thus be accomplished
 b) BioMEMS

The term “BioMEMS” has been a popular terminology in the MEMS

industry in recent years due to the many break-through in this
technology, which many believe to be a viable lead to mitigate the sky-
rocketing costs in healthcare costs in many industrialized countries.

BioMEMS include the following three major areas:

(1) Biosensors for identification and measurement of biological

substances,

(2) Bioinstruments and surgical tools, and

(3) Bioanalytical systems for testing and diagnoses.

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 Major Technical Issues in BioMEMS Products:

(1) Functionality for the intended biomedical operations.

(2) Adaptive to existing instruments and equipment.

(3) Compatibility with biological systems of the patients.

(4) Controllability, mobility, and easy navigation for operations such as

those required in laparoscope's surgery.

(5) Fabrication of MEMS structures with high aspect ratio (defined as

the ratio of the dimensions in the depth of the structure to the
dimensions of the surface)

Note: Almost all bioMEMS products are subjected to the approval for
marketing by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of the US
government.
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 Biomedical Sensors and Biosensors
These sensors are extensively used in medical diagnosis, environmental
protection, drug discovery and delivery, etc.
1. Biomedcial Sensors
For the measurements of biological substances in the sample and also for
medical diagnosis purposes.
Input signal: Biological sample (e.g., blood samples or body fluids typically in
minute amount in µL or nL)

Microsensing element: a chemical that reacts with the sample.

Transduction unit: the product of whatever the chemical reactions between

the sample and the chemical in the sensing element will
convert itself into electrical signal (e.g. in milli volts, mV).

Output signal: The converted electrical signal usually in mV.

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 Example of a biomedical sensor:

A sensor for measuring the glucose concentration of a patient.

Pt electrode
Blood sample
Polyvinyl alcohol solution
V H+ H+ H+ H+ H+
i
Ag/AgCl Reference electrode

Working principle:

●The glucose in patient’s blood sample reacts with the O2 in the polyvinyl
alcohol solution and produces H2O2.

●The H2 in H2O2 migrates toward Pt film in a electrolysis process, and builds up

layers at that electrode.

●The difference of potential between the two electrodes due to the build-up of
H2 in the Pt electrode relates to the amount of glucose in the blood sample.
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 2. Biosensors
These sensors work on the principle of interactions between the
biomolecules in the sample and the analyte (usually in solution) in the
sensor.

Signal transduction is carried out by the sensing element as shown below:

ANALYTE

Biomolecule B
B Supply
Biomolecule Layer B B
Chemical
B B B B
Optical
Output Thermal
Sensor
Signals Resonant
Electrochemical
ISFET (Ion Sensitive
Field Effect Transducer )

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 c) Chemical Sensors
• Work on simple principles of chemical reactions between the sample, e.g. O2
and the sensing materials, e.g., a metal.
• Signal transduction is the changing of the physical properties of the sensing
materials after specific type of chemical reactions.
There are four (4) common types of chemical sensors:
(1) Chemiresistor sensors: eg:phthalocyanine used with Cu to sense NH3 and NO2
(2) Chemicapacitor sensors eg: polyphenylacetylene to sense CO,CO2,N2,CH4
Chemically
Sensitive
Polyimide
Input current Output:
or voltage Metal Insert
Change of Resistance
Input Voltage Metal Electrodes Output:
Capacitance Change

Measurand Gas

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 c) Chemical Sensors-Cont’d
(3) Chemimechanical sensors:
Work on certain materials (e.g. polymers) that change shapes when they are exposed
to chemicals. Measuring the change of the shape of the sensing materials determines
the presence of the chemical. Eg: moisture sensor using pyraline

(4) Metal oxide gas sensors:

Sensing materials: certain semiconducting materials, e.g., SnO2 change their
electrical resistance when exposed to certain chemicals.

Measurand Gas

Electric Contact SnO2

SiO2
Silicon Substrate

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 c) Chemical Sensors-Cont’d
Available metal oxide gas sensors:

Semiconducting Metals Catalyst Additives Gas to be Detected

BaTiO3/CuO La2O3, CaCO3 CO2

SnO2 Pt + Sb CO

SnO2 Pt Alcohols

SnO2 Sb2O3 H2, O2, H2S

SnO2 CuO H2S

ZnO V, Mo Halogenated hydrocarbons

WO3 Pt NH3

Fe2O3 Ti-doped + Au CO

Ga2O3 Au CO

MoO3 None NO2, CO

In2O3 None O3
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 4) Optical Sensors
● These sensors are used to detect the intensity of lights.

●It works on the principle of energy conversion between the photons in the
incident light beams and the electrons in the sensing materials.

●The following four (4) types of optical sensors are available:

Photon Energy
Photon Energy
Semiconductor A is
more transparent to R Semiconductor A
photon energy in Junction
incident light Semiconductor B
R
(a) Photovoltaic junction (b) Photoconductive device

Bias
Voltage Photon Energy
Photon Energy
Reverse _ R
Bias + p-Material
Voltage p n
Vout
n-Material Leads
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(c) Photodiodes
 4) Optical Sensors contd..
Photon Energy

Photon Energy
p n p Emitter Collector p n p Emitter

Base Base

(d) Phototransistors

Silicon (Si) and Gallium arsenide (GaAs) are common sensing materials.
GaAs has higher electron mobility than Si- thus higher quantum efficiency.

Other materials, e.g. Lithium (Li), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K) and
Rubidium (Rb) are used for this purpose.
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 5) Pressure Sensors
●Micro pressure sensors are used to monitor and measure minute gas pressure in
environments or engineering systems, e.g. automobile intake pressure to the
engine.
●They are among the first MEMS devices ever developed and produced for “real
world” applications.
●Micro pressure sensors work on the principle of mechanical bending of thin
silicon diaphragm by the contact air or gas pressure.

Measurand
Fluid Inlet
Silicon Die
with
Diaphrag
Cavity m Cavity
Cons traint
Base

Meas urand
Fluid Inlet

(a) Back side pressurized (b) Front side pressurized

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 5) Pressure Sensors Contd..
● The strains associated with the deformation of the diaphragm are measured
by tiny “piezoresistors” placed in “strategic locations” on the diaphragm.
● These tiny piezoresistors are made from doped
R1, R2, R 3, R =
4 Piezoresistors
silicon. They work on the similar principle as
“foil strain gages” with much smaller sizes (in
Me tal Pad R4
R3
Me tal Pad µm), but have much higher sensitivities and
R1
R2 resolutions.

Top view of silicon die

R3 (+ve) R1 (+ve)
Wire bond Piezoresistors +
Metal film Vin a Vo
Dielectric layer b
-
R2 (-ve) R4 (-ve)
S ilicone gel

Silicon Me tal
Diaphragm Die Casing
Attach
Pyre x Glass Wheatstone bridge for signal transduction
Constraining
Base or Metal R1 R3
Header Vo  Vin 
Passage f or
R1  R4 R2  R3
Interconnect
Pressur ized
Medium R1,R 3= resistance induced by longitudinal and transverse stresses
R2,R4 = reference resistors
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 5) Pressure Sensors Contd..
● Other ways of transducing the deformation of the diaphragm to electronic
output signals are available, e.g.,

Metallic
Silicon Cover
Signal output: capacitance changes
Electrode
(for higher temperature applications)
Metallic
C   r o
A
V Electrode
d
 r = Relative permittivity = 1.0 with air
Silicon Die
Cavity
Cons trai nt  o = Permittivity in vacuum = 8.85 pF/m
Base A = Overlap area
D = Gap between plate electrodes
Meas urand
Fluid Inlet
Diffused p-type Vibrating beam:
electrode (n-type Si wafer,40 m wide
Silicon diaphragm x 600 m long x 6 m thick)
1200 m sq.x 100 m thick
By resonant vibration (for
higher resolutions) Signal Silicon die
(400 m thick)
output: Shift of resonance
frequencies by change of
stresses in lower plate
electrode by applied pressure Pressurized Constraint base
loading medium
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 Two Common Types of Micro Pressure Sensors
Sensors using piezoresistors:
 Small in size Linear I/O relation Temperature sensitive

Sensors using capacitances:

 Tends to be bulky Suited for elevated temperature application
 Nolinear I/O relations • Lower cost
Nonlinear I/O with plate pressure sensors using electrodes
Electric circuit bridge for converting capacitance changes to voltage output:
C
Vo 
22C  C 
Vin
Variable
C capacitor 14
Change of Capacitance,

12
Vo Vin 10
8

C C 6
4
2
pF

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Gap, micrometer

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 5) Pressure Sensors Contd..

● Major problems in pressure sensors are in the system packaging

and protection of the diaphragm from the contacting
pressurized media, which are often corrosive, erosive, and at
high temperatures.

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 6) Thermal Sensors
●Thermal sensors are used to monitor, or measure temperature in an
environment or of an engineering systems.

●Common thermal sensors involve thermocouples and thermopiles.

● Thermal sensors work on the principle of the electromotive forces (emf)

generated by heating the junction made by dissimilar materials (beads):
Metal Wire A
Heat
Heat Metal Wire A Cold
Junction i
i V Voltage Output
Hot
Junction
i i
Bead V
Metal Wire B Metal Wire B
Voltage Output

(a) A thermocouple (b) A dual junction thermocouple

The generated voltage (V) by a temperature rise at the bead (∆T) is:
V   T
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 Thermal Sensors contd..
The Seebeck coefficients for various thermocouples are:

Type Wire Materials Seebeck Range (oC) Range (mV)

Coefficient
(V/oC)
E Chromel/Constantan 58.70 at 0oC -270 to 1000 -9.84 to 76.36

J Iron/Constantan 50.37 at 0oC -210 to 1200 -8.10 to 69.54

K Chromel/Alumel 39.48 at 0oC -270 to 1372 -6.55 to 54.87

R Platinum (10%)-Rh/Pt 10.19 at 600oC -50 to 1768 -0.24 to 18.70

T Copper/Constantan 38.74 at 0oC -270 to 400 -6.26 to 20.87

S Pt (13%)-Rh/Pt 11.35 at 600oC -50 to 1768 -0.23 to 21.11

Common thermocouples are of K and T types

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 Thermal Sensors contd..
Thermopiles are made of connecting a series of thermocouples in parallel:
Thermocouples

Hot Junction
Region, Th

Cold Junction
Region, Tc
V

The induced voltage (∆V) by the temperature change at the hot junction (∆T) is:

V  N  T
with N = number of thermocouple pairs in the thermopile.

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 Thermal Sensors contd..
A micro thermal sensor:
3.6 mm

● 32 polysilicon-gold thermocouples
32 Thermocouples
16 m wide

Cold Junction
● dimension of thermopile is:
Region 3.6 mm x 3.6 mm x 20 µm thick
Hot
● Typical output is 100 mV
3.6 mm

Junction
Region

● Response time is 50 ms
Diaphragm: 1.6 mm dia x
1.3 m thick

Hot Junction
Region
Top view
Thermocouples

Silicon Rim
20 m

Support
Diaphragm

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Working Principles for Microactuators
Power
Supply

Micro
Output Transduction
Actuating
Action Unit
Element

Power supply: Electrical current or voltage

Transduction unit: To covert the appropriate form of power supply into

the desired form of actions of the actuating element

Actuating element: A material or component that moves with power

supply

Output action: Usually in a prescribed motion

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 Actuators
• A mechanical device for moving or controlling something
• Important part of microsystem
• Four principal means of actuation
1. Thermal forces
2. Shape memory alloys
3. Piezoelectric crystals
4. Electrostatic forces
An actuator is designed to deliver a desired motion when driven by a
power source
Eg: electric relay, inkjet printer heads

• Driving power for actuators depends on its application

Eg: on-off switches deflection of bimetallic strip as a result of
resistance heating the strip with passing electric current
Motors, solenoid devices electromagnetic induction 40
 Actuation Using Thermal Forces
● Solids deform when they are subjected to a temperature change (∆T)

● A solid rod with a length L will extend its length by ∆L = α∆T, in which α =
coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) – a material property.

● When two materials with distinct CTE bond together and is subjected to a
temperature change, the compound material will change its geometry
as illustrated below with a compound beam (bimetallic strip)
Heat
1  2
1

2

●It will return to its original shape after the removal of the heat
●These compound beams are commonly used as microswitches, relays,
microclamps and valves in MEMS products.
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 Actuation Using Shape Memory Alloys (SMA)
● SMA are the materials that have a “memory” of their original geometry (shape) at a
typically elevated temperature of production.

● These alloys are deformed into different geometry at typically room temperature.

● The deformed SMA structures will return to their original shapes when they are heated
to the elevated temperature at their productions.

● Nitinolor or Ti-Ni alloys are common SMAs.

● A microswitch actuated with SMA:

Shape Memory Alloy Strip
e.g. TiNi or Nitinolor

Resistance Heating Strip

Silicon Cantilever Beam

Constraint Base

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 Actuation Using Piezoelectric Crystals
●A certain crystals, e.g., quartz exhibit an interesting behavior when subjected
to a mechanical deformation or an electric voltage. piezoelectric effect

●This behavior may be illustrated as follows:

Induced Mechanical
Mechanical Deformation
Forces

Applied Voltage, V
V

Mechanical force induced Electric voltage induced

electric voltage mechanical deformation

●This peculiar behavior makes piezoelectric crystals an ideal candidate for

microactuation as illustrated in the following case:
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Actuation Using Piezoelectric Crystals

A micro relay or microelectrical switch

Electrodes

V
Piezoelectric

Silicon Cantilever Beam

Constraint Base

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 Actuation Using Electrostatic Forces
● Electrostatic Force between Two Particles
● The Coulomb’s Law: The electrostatic force F is defined as the electrical
force of attraction or repulsion induced by an electric field E

A
(with charge q)

B
(with charge q’)

1 qq'
The attraction or repulsive force: F 
4 r 2
where ε = permittivity of the medium between the two particles
= 8.85 x 10-12 C2/N-m2 or 8.85 pF/m in vacuum (= εo)
r = Distance between the particles (m)

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 Actuation Using Electrostatic Forces
●Electrostatic Force Normal to Two Electrically Charged Plates:

Length, L

V
Gap, d

● The induced capacitance, C : C   r  o dA   r  o WL

d
●The induced normal force, Fd is:
  1  r  o WL V 2
Fd
2 d2
in which εr = relative permittivity of the dielectric material between the two
plates

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 Actuation Using Electrostatic Forces

● Electrostatic Force Parallel to Two Misaligned Electrically Charged

Plates:
Fd
Fw

FL
L
V
d W

● Force in the “Width” direction:

1 r o L V 2
Fw  
2 d
● Force in the “Length” direction:
1 r o W V 2
FL  
2 d

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 Actuation Using Electrostatic Forces

• These electrostatic forces are prime driving forces of

micro motors, comb drivers in micro grippers.

• Drawback of electrostatic actuation: force

generated by this method is usually low in magnitude.

• Application limited to actuators for optical switches,

microgrippers.

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 Applications of Microactuators
Microgrippers An essential component in microrobots in assembly
microassemblies and surgery

Two gripping methods:

Gripping Arms
Closing The normal plate electrodes
V Electrodes the gap,d V - Not practical b/c
requiring more space.

The sliding plate electrodes

V V - Popular method. Can have
many sets to make “Comb
Aligning the drive” actuators
electrodes,L

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A Typical Microgripper with “Comb drive” Actuators:
400 µm

100 µm
Drive Arm

Arrangement of electrodes:
10 µm
V

Closure Arm

160
Drastic reduction in required
140
actuation voltage with increase
Required Voltage,
120
of number of pairs of electrodes: 100
80
60
40
v

20
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Number of Electrode Pairs

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 Applications of Microactuators

Micromotors
Unlike traditional motors, the driving forces for micro motors is primarily the parallel
electrostatic forces between pairs of misaligned electrically charged plates (electrodes), as
will be demonstrated in the following two cases:

Linear stepping motors:

● Two sets of electrodes in the form of plates separated by dielectric material (e.g.
quartz film).
● One electrode set is fixed and the other may slide over with little friction.
● The two sets have slightly different pitch between electrodes
Pitch:
W w+w/3 Step Movements
W/3
Moving set A’ B’ C’ D’
electrodes:
Dielectric material
Fixed set
electrodes: A B C D
W W

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 Applications of Microactuators
Pitch:
W w+w/3 Step Movements
W/3
Moving set A’ B’ C’ D’
e lectrodes :
Dielectric material
Fixed set
e lectrodes : A B C D
W W
● Energize the set A-A’ will generate a force pulling A’ over A due to initial misalignment.

● Once A and A’ are aligned, the pair B and B’ become misaligned.

● Energize the misaligned B-B’ will generate electrostatic force pulling B’ over B.

● It is now with C’ and C being misaligned.

● Energize C’ and C will produce another step movement of the moving set over the
stationary set.

● Repeat the same procedure will cause continuous movements of the moving sets

● The step size of the motion = w/3, or the size of preset mismatch of the pitch between
the two electrode sets.
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 Applications of Microactuators
Rotary stepping motors:

● Involve two sets of electrodes- one set for the rotor and the other for the stator.
● Dielectric material between rotor and stator is air.
● There is preset mismatch of pitches of the electrodes in the two sets.

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 Applications of Microactuators
● Working principle of this rotary motor is similar to that in linear motors.
A micro motor produced by Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center, Germany:

Rotor
Gear for
Stator transmitting
torque

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 Applications of Microactuators
Microvalves
● A special microvalve designed by Jerman in 1990.
● Circular in geometry, with diaphragm of 2.5 mm in diameter x 10 µm thick.
● The valve is actuated by thermal force generated by heating rings.
● Heating ring is made of aluminum films 5 µm thick.
● The valve has a capacity of 300 cm3/min at a fluid pressure of 100 psig.
● Power consumption is 1.5 W.

Electric Resistance
Heating Rings
Flexible Silicon Diaphragm INLET FLOW

Si licon
Base

Constraint Base

FLOW OUTLET
Centerline

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Design and Manufacture, TMH, 2002
 Applications of Microactuators
Micropumps
1. Electrostatically actuated micropump:
● An electrostatic actuated pump in 1992.
● The pump is of square geometry with 4 mm x 4mm x 25 µm thick.
● The gap between the diaphragm and the electrode is 4 µm.
● Pumping rate is 70 µL/min at 25 Hz.
Deformable Silicon
Diaphragm

Electrode V

Pumping Chamber
Inlet
Che ck
Valve

O utlet
Che ck
Valve Constraint
Base

Low Pressure High Pressure

Fluid Inlet Fluid Outlet

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2. Piezoelectrically actuated pump:

● An effective way to pump fluid through capillary tubes.

● Tube wall is flexible.
● Outside tube wall is coated with piezoelectric crystal film, e.g. ZnO with
aluminum interdigital transducers (IDTs).
● Radio-frequency voltage is applied to the IDTs, resulting in mechanical
squeezing in section of the tube (similar to the squeezing of toothpaste)
● Smooth flow with “uniform” velocity profile across the tube cross section.
Piezoelectric coating
with transducer

Flow F V

Flexible Tube
Wall

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Design and Manufacture, TMH, 2002
 Microaccelerometers

● Accelerometers are used to measure dynamic forces associated with

moving objects.
● These forces are related to the velocity and acceleration of the moving objects.
● Traditionally an accelerometer is used to measure such forces.
● A typical accelerometer consists of a “proof mass” supported by a spring and a
“dashpot” for damping of the vibrating proof mass:
The accelerometer is
attached to the vibrating
solid body

Spring
k

Mass
M Dashpot
with
dampin
Vibrating g C
Solid Body

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Design and Manufacture, TMH, 2002
 The accelerometer is attached
to the vibrating solid body

Microaccelerometers contd..
Spring
k

 The instantaneous displacement of the mass y(t)

induced by the attached moving solid body is Mass
M

measured and recorded with respect to time, t. Dashpot

with
damping
C
Vibrating
Solid Body

 The associated velocity, V(t) and the acceleration

α(t) may be obtained by the following derivatives:

dy(t ) dy(t ) d 2 y(t)

V (t)  and  (t)  
dt dt dt 2
 The associated dynamic force of induced by the moving solid is thus obtained by using
the Newton’s law, i.e. F(t) = M α(t), in which M = the mass of the moving solid.

 In miniaturizing the accelerometers to the micro-scale, there is no room for the coil
spring and the dashpot for damping on the vibrating mass.

 Alternative substitutes for the coil spring, dashpot, and even the proof mass need to
be found.

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Microaccelerometers contd..

● There are two types micro accelerometers available.

(1) The cantilever beam accelerometer:

Silicon Cantilever
Beam Piezoresistor

Casing Mass, M

Constraint Base
Constraint Base

Vibrating Base

In this design: Cantilever beam = coil spring;

Surrounding viscous fluid = dashpot for damping of the proof mass

The movement of the proof mass is carried out by the attached piezoresistor.

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Microaccelerometers contd..

(2) Balanced force micro accelerometer:

● This is the concept used in the “air-bag” deployment sensor in automobiles

● In this design: Plate beam = proof mass;

Two end tethers = springs
Surrounding air = dashpot

Stationary
electrodes
Moving electrode

● The movement of the proof mass is carried out by measuring the change of
capacitances between the pairs of electrodes.

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Design and Manufacture, TMH, 2002
Review of Mechanical concepts

Thomas B. Jones, Electromechanics and

62
MEMS, Cambridge University Press, 2001
 Stress
• Stress is developed in response to mechanical loading.
• Newton’s three laws of motion is the foundation for analyzing the
static and dynamic behaviors of MEMS devices under loading.

• These laws are used to analyze force distribution inside a material,

which gives rise to stress and strain.

Chang Liu, Foundations of MEMS, Pearson

2012 63
Fig: Force balance analysis

Chang Liu, Foundations of MEMS, Pearson

2012
64
• Consider a bar firmly embedded in a brick wall with an axial force F
applied at the end.
• Since the force is transmitted through the bar to the wall, the wall must
produce a reaction according to the Newton’s Third Law.
• The wall would act on the left end of the bar with an unknown force.
• To expose and quantify this force, we imaginarily remove the wall, and
replace it with the actions it imparts on the bar.
• This free-body diagram of the bar clearly reveals that the wall must
provide an axial force with equal magnitude but opposite direction to the
applied force, so that the total force on the bar is zero to maintain its
stationary status (Newton’s First Law).
• We can use this technique to expose and quantify hidden forces and
stresses at any section.
• Since the bar is in equilibrium, any part of it must be in equilibrium as
well.
• We can pick an arbitrary section of interest, and imaginarily cut the bar
into two halves.
• Since a force is applied at the free end of the bar, an equal but opposite
force must develop at the cross section.
Chang Liu, Foundations of MEMS, Pearson
2012 65
Fig: Force and moment balance analysis.
Chang Liu, Foundations of MEMS, Pearson
2012 66
• Now let us consider the same bar under a force acting in the transverse
direction.
• Isolate the bar: The sum of forces and moments acting on the isolated
bar must be zero.
• For the net force to be zero, a force of same magnitude but opposite
sign must act on the end of the bar attached to the wall.
• The pair of force, however, creates a torque (also referred to as a couple
or a moment in mechanics) with the magnitude being F times L, the
length of the bar.
• A reactive torque, with the magnitude of F times L but opposite sign,
must act on the end of the bar attached to the wall.
The imaginarily cut section on the piece to the left would have exactly
opposite force and torque as the opposing surface (according Newton’s
Third Law).
• The magnitude of the sum of torques on the left-hand piece is equal to ,
which equals the force multiplied by the length of the left-hand piece.
• The net force and torque acting on the left hand piece are both zero.

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 Definitions of Stress and Strain
Mechanical stresses fall into two categories
1. normal stress
2. shear stress.

Fig: Normal stress and shear stress.

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• If we pull on the rod in its longitudinal direction, it will
experience tension and the length of the rod will increase.
• The internal stress in the rod is exposed if we make an imaginary cut
through the rod at section.
• The intensity of this force is called the stress.
• If the stress acts in a direction perpendicular to the cross section, it is
called a normal stress.
• The normal stress, commonly denoted as is defined as the force applied on
a given area (A).

The SI unit of stress is N/m2 or Pa.

• A normal stress can be tensile (as in the case of pulling along the rod) or
compressive (as in the case of pushing along the rod).
• The polarity of normal stress can also be determined by
isolating an infinitesimally small volume inside the bar.
• If the volume is pulled in one particular axis, the stress is tensile; if the
volume is pushed, the stress is compressive.
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2012
• The unit elongation of the rod represents the strain.

• In this case, it is called normal strain since the direction of the strain is
perpendicular to the cross section of the beam.

• Suppose the steel bar has an original length L0. Under a given normal
stress the rod is extended to a length of L.

• The resultant strain in the bar is defined as

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• The applied longitudinal stress along the x-axis not only produces a
longitudinal elongation in the direction of the stress, but a reduction of
cross-sectional area as well.
• The relative dimensional change in the y and z directions can be
expressed as εy and εz.
• This general material characteristic is captured by a term called the
Poisson’s ratio, which is defined as the ratio between transverse and
longitudinal elongations.

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• Stress and strain are closely related.
• Under small deformation, the stress and the strain terms are proportional to
each other according to the Hooke’s law.

• The proportion constant, E, is called the modulus of elasticity.

• The modulus of elasticity, often called the Young’s modulus, is an intrinsic

property of a material.

• It is a constant for a given material, irrespective of the shape and

dimensions of the mechanical element.

• Atoms are held together with atomic forces.

• If one imagines inter-atomic force acting as springs to provide restoring
force when atoms are pulled apart or pushed together, the modulus of
elasticity is the measure of the stiffness of the inter-atomic spring near the
equilibrium point.
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2012 72
• Shear stresses can be developed under different force loading conditions.
• One of the simplest ways to generate a pure shear loading is illustrated in
the Figure, with a pair of forces acting on opposite faces of a cube

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• The magnitude of the shear stress is defined as

The unit of τ is N/m2

• Shear stress has no tendency to elongate or shorten the element in the x,

y, and z directions.

• Shear stresses produce a change in the shape of the element.

• The original element shown here, which is a rectangular parallelepiped, is

deformed into an oblique parallelepiped.

• Shear strain ϒ, defined as the extent of rotational displacement, is

• The shear stress is unit less

• It represents the angular displacement expressed in the unit of radians.
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2012 74
• The shear stress and strain are also related to each other by a
proportional constant, called the shear modulus of elasticity, G.

• The expression of G is simply the ratio of τ and ϒ

The unit of G is N/m2.

• The value of G depends on the material, not the shape and dimensions
of an object.

• For a given materials, E, G, and the Poisson’s ratio are linked through
the relationship

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 Stress and Strain relation
• Stress–strain relation is decided
by a tensile test.

• A rod with precise dimensions,

calibrated crystalline
orientation and smooth surface
finish is subjected to a tension
force applied in the
longitudinal direction.

• The amount of relative

displacement and the applied
stress are plotted on a stress-
strain curve until the beam
breaks.
Fig: generic stress-strain curve
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2012 76
Inferences from stress-strain curve

1. At low levels of applied stress and strain, the stress value increases
proportionally with respect to the developed strain, with the
proportional constant being the Young’s modulus.
2. This segment of the stress-strain curve is called the elastic
deformation regime.
3. If the stress is removed, the material will return to its
original shape.
4. This force loading can be repeated for many times.
5. As the stress exceeds a certain level, the material enters the plastic
deformation regime.
6. In this regime, the amount of stress and strain does not follow a linear
relationship anymore.
7. Furthermore, deformation cannot be fully recovered after the external
loading is removed.
Bend a metal paper clip wire slightly, it will always return to its
original shape.
If the wire is bent beyond a certain angle, the clip will never return to
original shapes again.Chang Liu, Foundations of MEMS, Pearson
2012 77
Inferences from stress-strain curve

8. Plastic deformation is said to have occurred.

9. Stress-strain curves for materials in compression differ from those in
tension
10. The stress-strain curve has two noticeable points—yield point and
fracture point.
11. Before the yield point is reached, the material remains elastic.
12. Between the yield point and the fracture point, the specimen undergoes
plastic deformation.
13. At the fracture point, the specimen suffers from irreversible failure.
14. The y-coordinate of the yield point is the yield strength of the
material.
15. The y-coordinate of the fracture point is designated the ultimate
strength (or the fracture strength) of the material.

A material is strong if it has high yield strength or ultimate strength

silicon is even stronger than stainless steel.

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• For many metals the generic
relationship depicted in previous
figure is true.

• All materials do not exhibit this

generic stress–strain relationship.

• Some representative curves for

different classes of materials are
shown in Figure.

• Includes brittle materials (such as

silicon) and soft rubber, both are
used extensively in MEMS.

Fig: Stress-strain relation

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2012 79
Important properties

• Ductility is an important mechanical property.

• It is a measure of the degree of plastic deformation that has been

sustained at the point of fracture.

• A material that experiences very little or no plastic deformation

upon fracture is termed brittle.

• Silicon is a brittle material, which fails in tension with only little

elongation after the proportional limit is exceeded.

• Ductility may be expressed quantitatively as either percent

elongation or percent reduction in area.

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Important properties

• Toughness is a mechanical measure of the ability of a material to

absorb energy up to fracture.

• For a static situation, toughness may be ascertained from the result

of the tensile stress-strain test.

• It is the area under the stress-strain curve up to the point of fracture.

• For a material to be tough, it must display both strength and

ductility.

• Resilience is the capacity of a material to absorb energy when it is

deformed elastically and then, upon unloading, to have this energy
recovered.
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 Stress and Strain relation
• Stress and strain are tensors.
• Their relationship can be conveniently expressed in matrix form in which
stress and strain are expressed as vectors.

To visualize vector components of stress and strain, let us isolate a unit cube
from inside a material and consider stress components acting on it.

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2012
• A cube has six faces.
• Consequently, there are 12 possible shear force components—two for each face.
These are not all independent
• Each pair of shear stress components acting on parallel faces but along the same
axis have equal magnitude and opposite directions for force balance (Newton’s
first law).
• This reduces the number of independent shear stress components to six.
• Each component is identified by two subscript letters.
• The first letter in the subscript indicates the normal direction of the facet on
which the stress is applied to, while the second letter indicates the direction of
the stress component.
• Based on torque balance, two shear stress components acting on two facets but
pointing towards a common edge have the same magnitude.

τxy=τyx τxz=τzx τzy=τyz

• In other words, equal shear stresses always exist on mutually perpendicular

planes.
• The independent number of shear stress components is reduced to three.
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• There are six possible normal stress components—one for each face of a
cube.
• Under equilibrium conditions, the normal stress components acting on
opposite facets must have the same magnitude and point to opposite
directions.
• Therefore, there are three independent normal stress components.
• Normal stress components are labeled σ with two subscript letters.

Overall, in a rectangular coordinate system under motion equilibrium, there

are three independent normal stresses and three shear ones.

1. Normal stress components σxx, σyy, and σzz are simply noted as T1, T2 and
T3 respectively.
2. Shear stress components τyz, τxz, and τxy are simply noted as T4, T5 and T6
respectively.

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2012 84
• Correspondingly, there are three independent strains ( through ) and three
shear strains ( through ).

• The general matrix equation between stress and strain, is

• In short-hand form, the expression is

• The coefficient matrix C is called the stiffness matrix.

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• The strain matrix is a product of the compliance matrix, S, and the stress
tensor, according to the following matrix expression

• The expression in short hand form is

• The compliance matrix S is the inverse of the stiffness matrix.

In short hand notation,

Note the stiffness matrix is denoted by the letter C, whereas the compliance
matrix is denoted by the letter S
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