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In Situ Measurement of Young’s Modulus and Residual Stress of Thin Electroless Nickel Films for Mems Applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

S. Roy ,
S. Furukawa ,
H. Miyajima  and
M. Mehregany
S. Roy
Affiliation:
Electronics Design Center, Department of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44016, USA
S. Furukawa
Affiliation:
Electronics Design Center, Department of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44016, USA
H. Miyajima
Affiliation:
Electronics Design Center, Department of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44016, USA
M. Mehregany
Affiliation:
Electronics Design Center, Department of Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44016, USA
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Abstract

This paper reports in situ measurement of Young’s modulus and residual stress of electroless nickel films through the use of microfabricated nickel test structures, including electrostatic microactuators and passive devices. The test structures are fabricated in a new surface micromachining process, termed “nickel surface micromachining”, using electroless plated nickel as the structural layer and polysilicon as the sacrificial layer. Subsequent to fabrication, lateral resonant-type electrostatic microactuators of different geometries are resonated by electrical excitation. Using the measured resonant frequencies and knowledge of the device geometry, the Young’s modulus of the film is determined. The passive electroless nickel microstructures deform upon completion of the fabrication process due to residual stress in the film. Measurement of this deformation in conjunction with an appropriate mechanical model is used to determine the residual stress in the films.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 356: Symposium B2 – Thin Films: Stresses and Mechanical Properties V , 1994 , 573
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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References

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