Adhesion-related failure mechanisms in micromechanical devices

Adhesion-related failures occur in microelectromechanical systems(MEMS) when suspended elastic members unexpectedly stick totheir substrates. This type of device failure is one of thedominant sources of yield loss in MEMS. This paper reviews thephysical mechanisms responsible for the failure from bo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tribology letters 1997-09, Vol.3 (3), p.223-238
Main Author: Mastrangelo, CH
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adhesion
Collapse
Failure
Failure mechanisms
Microelectromechanical systems
Substrates
Surface treatment
Tribology
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Summary:Adhesion-related failures occur in microelectromechanical systems(MEMS) when suspended elastic members unexpectedly stick totheir substrates. This type of device failure is one of thedominant sources of yield loss in MEMS. This paper reviews thephysical mechanisms responsible for the failure from both the theoretical and practical stand point. In general, the failurerequires two different phenomena. First (a) the device must besubject to a force sufficiently strong to collapse the elasticmember thus bringing it in contact with the substrate. (b) Aftercontact is established and the force removed, the intersolidadhesion must exceed the elastic member restoring force hence keeping the device permanently pinned to the substrate. Both ofthese problems develop during the device fabrication as well asduring the device operation. Normalized elastic member dimensionbounds for prevention of collapse and pinning are presented. Thefailure rate can also be reduced using a wide variety ofprocessing, surface treatment, and physical schemes. These are discussed in regard to their practical applicability.
ISSN:1023-8883
1573-2711
DOI:10.1023/A:1019133222401