Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Metallization of plastic devices is of interest to newer non-silicon based MEMS which are being developed for biomedical and other applications. The electrical properties of the metallization will depend, in part, on the material on which they are patterned, and the method of deposition. Of interest are the electrical characterizations during usage which must be studied to allow plastic MEMS designs to proceed wisely. Flexible microdevices may develop open circuits or shorts after excessive bending; joule heating may adversely affect the plastic substrates, leading to failure. We present some experimental studies on electrical characterization of metallized plastics as it relates to various processing conditons and usage scenarios.