Mechanics of Micro Structures

Chang Liu
Micro Actuators, Sensors, Systems Group
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Chang Liu

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UIUC

Single crystal silicon and wafers

To use Si as a substrate material, it should be pure Si in a single crystal form

The Czochralski (CZ) method: A seed crystal is attached at the tip of a puller, which
slowly pulls up to form a larger crystal
100 mm (4 in) diameter x 500 m thick
150 mm (6 in) diameter x 750 m thick
200 mm (8 in) diameter x 1000 m thick

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Miller indices

A popular method of designating crystal planes (hkm) and orientations

<hkm>

<hkm> designate the direction normal to the plane (hkm)

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Identify the axial intercepts

Take reciprocal
Clear fractions (not taking lowest integers)
Enclose the number with ( ) : no comma
(100), (110), (111)

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Stress and Strain

Definition of Stress and Strain

The normal stress (Pa, N/m2)

F
A

The strain

L L0 L

L0
L0

Poissons ratio

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y z

x x

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Hookes Law
E

E: Modulus of Elasticity, Youngs Modulus

The shear stress

The shear strain

F
A

X
L

The shear modulus of elasticity

G

The relationship
G

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E
21
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General Relation Between Tensile Stress and Strain

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 The behavior of brittle materials

(Si) and soft rubber used
extensively in MEMS
A material is strong if it has high
yield strength or ultimate strength.
Si is even stronger than stainless
steel
Ductility is a measure of the degree
of plastic deformation that has been
sustained at the point of fracture
Toughness is a mechanical measure
of the materials ability to absorb
energy up to fracture (strength +
ductility)
Resilience is the capacity of a
material to absorb energy when it is
deformed elastically, then to have
this energy recovered upon
unloading
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Mechanical Properties of Si and Related Thin Films

( ,
Growth ), ,

The fracture strength is size dependent; it is 23-28 times larger

than that of a millimeter-scale sample
Hall Petch equation;
y 0 Kd 1/ 2
For single crystal silicon, Youngs modulus is a function of the
crystal orientaiton
For plysilicon thin films, it depends on the process condition
(differ from Lab. to Lab.)

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General Stress-Strain Relations

xx , yy , zz T1 , T2 , T3

yz , xz , xy T4 , T5 , T6
T1
T
2
T3

C11 C12
C
21 C22
C31 C32

C13
C23
C33

C14
C24
C34

C15
C25
C35

C16
C26
C36

1

2
3

T4
T5

T6

C41 C42
C51 C52

C61 C62

C43
C53
C63

C44
C54
C64

C45
C55
C65

C46
C56

C66

4
5

6

yz , xz , xy T4 , T5 , T6

T C

C: stiffness matrix

ST

S: compliance matrix

For many materials of interest to

MEMS, the stiffness can be
simplified
Chang Liu

CSi ,100

1.66 0.64 0.64

0.64 1.66 0.64

0.64 0.64 1.66

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0.8 0
0 0.8
0

0
0
0

11
10 Pa

0
0

0.8
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Flexural Beam Bending

Types of Beams; Fig. 3.15
Possible Boundary Conditions

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Longitudinal Strain Under Pure Bending

Pure Bending; The moment is constant throughout the beam

My

EI
max

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Mt

2 EI

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Deflection of Beams
d2y
EI 2 M ( x)
dx
max

Fl 2
Fl 3

, d max
2 EI
3EI

d max

Fl 3

12 EI

d max

Fl 3
192 EI

max

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Appendix B

Ml
Ml 2

, d max
EI
2 EI

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Finding the Spring Constant

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Calculate spring constant

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Vertical Translational Plates

12 EI Ewt 3
k 3 3
l
l
k

12 EI Ewt 3
3
l3
l

Ewt 3
(a)k 2 3
l

Ewt 3
(b)k 4 3
l

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Torsional Deflections

Pure Torsion; Every cross section of the bar is identical

max

Tr0

1 4
J r0
2

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Intrinsic Stress
Many thin film materials experience internal stress even when
they are under room temperature and zero external loading
conditions
In many cases related to MEMS structures, the intrinsic stress
results from the temperature difference during deposition and
use

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Intrinsic Stress
The flatness of the membrane is
guaranteed when the membrane
material is under tensile stress

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Intrinsic Stress
There are three strategies for minimizing undesirable intrinsic
bending
Use materials that inherently have zero or very low intrinsic stress
For materials whose intrinsic stress depends on material
processing parameters, fine tune the stress by calibrating and
controlling deposition conditions
Use multiple-layered structures to compensate for stress-induced
bending

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Mechanical Variables of Concern

Force constant
flexibility of a given device

Mechanical resonant frequency

response speed of device
Hookes law applied to DC
driving

Importance of resonant freq.

Limits the actuation speed
lower energy consumption at Fr

Fmechanical

Felectric
Km

Fmechanical K m x

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Types of Electrical-Mechanical Analysis

Given dimensions and materials of electrostatic structure, find

force constant of the suspension

structure displacement prior to pull-in
value of pull-in voltage
Given the range of desired applied voltage and the desired
displacement, find
dimensions of a structure
layout of a structure
materials of a structure

Given the desired mechanical parameters including force

constants and resonant frequency, find

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dimensions
materials
layout design
quasistatic displacement
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Analysis of Mechanical Force Constants

Chang Liu

Concentrate on cantilever
beam (micro spring boards)
Three types of most relevant
boundary conditions
free: max. degrees of
freedom
fixed: rotation and
translation both restricted
guided: rotation
restricted.
Beams with various
combination of boundary
conditions
fixed-free, one-end-fixed
beam
fixed-fixed beam
fixed-guided beam

Fixed-free

Two fixedguided beams

Four fixed-guided beams

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Examples

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Boundary Conditions
Six degrees of freedom: three axis translation, three axis rotation
Fixed B.C.
no translation, no rotation

Free B.C.
capable of translation AND rotation

Guided B.C.
capable of translation BUT NOT rotation

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A Clamped-Clamped Beam
Fixed-guided

Fixed-guided

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A Clamped-Free Beam

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One-end Supported, Clamped-Free Beams

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Fixed-Free Beam by Sacrificial Etching

Right anchor is fixed because its rotation is completely
restricted.
Left anchor is free because it can translate as well as rotate.
Consider the beam only moves in 2D plane (paper plane). No
out-of-plane translation or rotation is encountered.

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Force Constants for Fixed-Free Beams

Dimensions
length, width, thickness
unit in m.

Materials
Youngs modulus, E
Unit in Pa, or N/m2.

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Modulus of Elasticity
Names
Youngs modulus
Elastic modulus

Definition

F
x
E
A
x L
L

Values of E for various materials can be found in notes, text

books, MEMS clearing house, etc.

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Large Displacement vs. Small Displacement

Small displacement
end displacement less than 1020 times the thickness.
Used somewhat loosely
because of the difficulty to
invoke large-deformation
analysis.

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Large deformation
needs finite element computeraided simulation to solve
precisely.
In limited cases exact
analytical solutions can be
found.

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Force Constants for Fixed-Free Beams

Moment of inertia I (unit: m4)
3
I= wt

12

for rectangular cross section

Maximum angular displacement

Fl 2
2 EI
Fl 3
3EI

Maximum vertical displacement under F is

Therefore, the equivalent force constant is

Formula for
1st order resonant frequency
where

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F
3EI Ewt 3
km 3 3
Fl
l
4l 3
3EI

is the beam weight per unit length.

3.52 EIg
2 l 4

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Zig-Zag Beams
Used to pack more L into a given footprint area on chip to
reduce the spring constant without sacrificing large chip space.

Saves chip
real-estate

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An Example

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Order of Resonance
1st order: one node where the
gradient of the beam shape is
zero;
also called fundamental mode.
With lowest resonance
frequency.

2nd order: 2 nodes where the

gradient of the beam shape is
zero;
3nd order: 3 nodes.
Frequency increases as the order
number goes up.

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Resonant frequency of typical spring-mass system

Self-mass or concentrated mass being m
The resonant frequency is

1
2

k
m

Check consistency of units.

High force constant (stiff spring) leads to high
resonant frequency.
Low mass (low inertia) leads to high resonant
frequency.
To satisfy both high K and high resonant
frequency, m must be low.
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Quality Factor
If the distance between two half-power points is df, and the
resonance frequency if fr, then
Q=fr/df

Q=total energy stored in system/energy loss per unit cycle

Source of mechanical energy loss
crystal domain friction
direct coupling of energy to surroundings
distrubance and friction with surrounding air
example: squeezed film damping between two parallel plate
capacitors
requirement for holes: (1) to reduce squeezed film damping; (2)
facilitate sacrificial layer etching (to be discussed later in detail).

Source of electrical energy loss

resistance ohmic heating
electrical radiation
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Electrostatic Sensors and Actuators

Chang Liu

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Outline
Basic Principles
capacitance formula
capacitance configuration

Applications examples
sensors
actuators

Analysis of electrostatic actuator

second order effect - pull in effect

Application examples and detailed analysis

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Basic Principles
Sensing
capacitance between moving and fixed plates change as
distance and position is changed
media is replaced

Actuation
electrostatic force (attraction) between moving and fixed plates as
a voltage is applied between them.

Two major configurations

parallel plate capacitor (out of plane)
interdigitated fingers - IDT (in plane)
A

Interdigitated finger configuration

Parallel plate configuration

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Examples
Parallel Plate Capacitor
Comb Drive Capacitor

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Parallel Plate Capacitor

A

Fringe electric field

(ignored in first order
analysis)

Q
V

E Q / A
C

Q
A

Q
d d
A

Equations without considering fringe electric field.

A note on fringe electric field: The fringe field is frequently ignored
in first-order analysis. It is nonetheless important. Its effect can be
captured accurately in finite element simulation tools.
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Fabrication Methods
Surface micromachining
Wafer bonding
3D assembly

Flip and
bond

Movable
vertical plate
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Forces of Capacitor Actuators

1
U

CV
Stored energy
2

1Q 2

2C

1 C

Force is derivative of energy with F

V2
d
2 d
respect to pertinent dimensional
variable
Q
A
C

Plug in the expression for capacitor

Q
d d
A

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U
1 A
F

V
We arrive at the expression for force
d
2d 2

1 CV

2 d

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Relative Merits of Capacitor Actuators

Pros
Nearly universal sensing and
actuation; no need for special
materials.
Low power. Actuation driven
by voltage, not current.
High speed. Use charging and
discharging, therefore realizing
full mechanical response speed.

Chang Liu

Cons
Force and distance inversely
scaled - to obtain larger force,
the distance must be small.
In some applications,
vulnerable to particles as the
spacing is small - needs
packaging.
Vulnerable to sticking
phenomenon due to molecular
forces.
Occasionally, sacrificial release.
Efficient and clean removal of
sacrificial materials.

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Capacitive
Accelerometer

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Proof mass area 1x0.6 mm2,

and 5 m thick.
Net capacitance 150fF
External IC signal processing
circuits

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Analysis of Electrostatic Actuator

What happens to a parallel plate capacitor when the

applied voltage is gradually increased?

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An Equivalent Electromechanical Model

Fmechanical

If top plate
moves downward, x<0.

Felectric
Km

x
Note: direction
definition of
variables

This diagram depicts a parallel plate capacitor at equilibrium

position. The mechanical restoring spring with spring constant
Km (unit: N/m) is associated with the suspension of the top plate.
According to Hookes law,
Fmechanical K m x
At equilibrium, the two forces, electrical force and mechanical
restoring force, must be equal. Less the plate would move under
Newtons first law.
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Gravity is generally ignored.

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Electrical And Mechanical Forces

If the right-hand plate moves
closer to the fixed one, the magnitude
of mechanical force increases linearly.

Equilibrium:
|electric force|=|mechanical force|

If a constant voltage, V1, is applied

in between two plates, the electric force
changes as a function of distance. The
closer the two plates, the large the
force.

X0

Equilibrium
position

Km

fixed

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Electrical And Mechanical Forces

V3
V2

Equilibrium:
|electric force|=|mechanical force|

V3>V2>V1

V1

X0

Km

fixed

X0+x1
X0+x2
X0+x3

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Force Balance Equation at Given Applied Voltage V

AV 2
km x
2
2 x x0

The linear curve

represents the
magnitude of
mechanical restoring
force as a function of
x.
Each curve in the
family represents
magnitude of electric
force as a function of
V increases
spacing (x0+x).
km

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Note that x<0. The

origin of x=0 is the
dashed line.
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Determining Equilibrium Position Graphically

At each specific applied voltage, the equilibrium position can be
determined by the intersection of the linear line and the curved
line.
For certain cases, two equilibrium positions are possible.
However, as the plate moves from top to bottom, the first
equilibrium position is typically assumed.
Note that one curve intersects the linear line only at one point.
As voltage increases, the curve would have no equilibrium
position.
This transition voltage is called pull-in voltage.
The fact that at certain voltage, no equilibrium position can be
found, is called pull-in effect.
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Pull-In Effect
As the voltage bias increases from zero across a pair of parallel
plates, the distance between such plates would decrease until
they reach 2/3 of the original spacing, at which point the two
plates would be suddenly snapped into contact.
This behavior is called the pull-in effect.
A.k.a. snap in

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A threshold point

VPI

Equilibrium:
|electric force|=|mechanical force|

X=-x0/3

X0

Km

fixed

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Positive
feedback
-snap, pull in

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Mathematical Determination of Pull-in Voltage

Step 1 - Defining Electrical Force Constant
Lets define the tangent of the electric force term. It is called
electrical force constant, Ke.
F
CV 2
ke
ke 2
d
x
When voltage is below the pull-in voltage, the magnitude of Ke
and Km are not equal at equilibrium.

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Review of Equations Related To Parallel Plate

The electrostatic force is

E
1 A 2
1 CV 2
F

V
2
d
2d
2 d

The electric force constant is

1
A 2 A V 2
V2
K e ( 2) 3 V
C 2
2
2
d
d d
d

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Mathematical Determination of Pull-in Voltage

Step 2 - Pull-in Condition
At the pull-in voltage, there is only one intersection between |F e| and |Fm|
curves.
At the intersection, the gradient are the same, i.e. the two curves
intersect with same tangent.

ke k m
This is on top of the condition that the magnitude of Fm and Fe are equal.
Force balance yields

Eq.(*)
2k m x( x x0 ) 2 2k m x( x x0 )
2
V the
expression for K
,
Plug in expression of V2 into
e
A
C

CV 2
ke 2
d

we get

CV 2
2k m x
k

This yield the positione for the pull-in

condition, x=-x 0/3. Irrespective of the
2
(
x

x
)
( x xo )
0
magnitude of k .
m

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Mathematical Determination of Pull-in Voltage

Step 3 - Pull-in Voltage Calculation

Plug in the position of pull-in

into Eq. * on previous page, we
get the voltage at pull-in as
2
4
x
V p2 0 k m
9C

At pull in, C=1.5 Co

Thus,

Vp

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A
( 2 /3)d

2 x0
km
.
3 1.5C0

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Implications of Pull-in Effect

For electrostatic actuator, it is impossible to control the
displacement through the full gap. Only 1/3 of gap distance can
be moved reliably.
Electrostatic micro mirros
reduced range of reliable position tuning

Electrostatic tunable capacitor

reduced range of tuning and reduced tuning range
Tuning distance less than 1/3, tuning capacitance less than 50%.

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Counteracting Pull-In Effect

Leveraged Bending for Full Gap Positioning
E. Hung, S. Senturia, Leveraged bending for full gap
positioning with electrostatic actuation, Sensors and Actuators
Workshop, Hilton Head Island, p. 83, 2000.

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Counteracting Pull-in Effect: Variable Gap Capacitor

Existing Tunable Capacitor
Counter
capacitor plate

Suspension
spring

Tuning range: 88%

(with parasitic capacitance)

d0

Actuation
electrode

Capacitor
plate

Actuation
electrode

NEW DESIGN
Variable Gap Variable Capacitor
Suspension
Counter
spring
capacitor
d0

Actuation
electrode

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<(1/3)d0

Capacitor
plate

plate

Actuation
electrode
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Example
A parallel plate capacitor
suspended by two fixed-fixed
cantilever beams, each with
length, width and thickness
denoted l, w and t, respectively.
The material is made of
polysilicon, with a Youngs
modulus of 120GPa.
L=400 m, w=10 m, and t=1
m.
The gap x0 between two plates
is 2 m.
The area is 400 m by 400 m.
Calculate the amount of vertical
displacement when a voltage of
0.4 volts is applied.

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Step 1: Find mechanical force constants

Calculate force constant of one beam first
use model of left end guided, right end fixed. 3
Under force F, the max deflection is d Fl
12 EI
The force constant is therefore
Km

F 12 EI Ewt 3 120 109 10 10 6 (1 10 6 )3

3 3
0.01875 N / m
d
l
l
(400 10 6 )3

This is a relatively soft spring.

Note the spring constant is stiffer than fixed-free beams.

Total force constant encountered by the parallel plate is

K m 0.0375 N / m

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Step 2: Find out the Pull-in Voltage

Find out pull-in voltage and compare with the applied voltage.
First, find the static capacitance value C o
8.85 10 12 ( F / m) (400 10 6 ) 2
C0
7.083 10 13 F
6
2 10

Find the pull-in voltage value

2 x0
km
2 2 10 6
0.0375
Vp

0.25(volts )
3 1.5C0
3
1.5 7.083 10 13

When the applied voltage is 0.4 volt, the beam has been pulled-in.
The displacement is therefore 2 m.
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What if the applied voltage is 0.2 V?

Not sufficient to pull-in
Deformation can be solved by solving the following equation
2k m x( x x0 ) 2 2k m x( x x0 )
V

A
C
2

or

v 2A
x 2 x0 x x x
0
2k m
3

2
0

x 3 4 10 6 x 2 4 10 12 x 7.552 10 19 0

How to solve it?

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Solving Third Order Equation ...

To solve

x 3 ax 2 bx c 0

Apply y x a / 3
Use the following definition

a2
a
ab
p
b, q 2( )3
c
3
3
3
3

p
q

3
2

A3

q
q
Q,B 3
Q
2
2

The only real solution is

y A B

a
x A B
3

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Calculator A Simple Way Out.

Use HP calculator,
x1=-2.45x10-7 m
x2=-1.2x10-6 m
x3=-2.5x10-6 m

Accept the first answer because the other two are out side of
pull-in range.

If V=0.248 Volts, the displacement is -0.54 m.

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Deformable Mirrors for Adaptive Optics

2 m surface normal stroke
for a 300 m square mirror, the displacement is 1.5 micron at
approximately 120 V applied voltage
T. Bifano, R. Mali, Boston University
(http://www.bu.edu/mfg/faculty/homepages/bifano.html)

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Chang Liu

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Chang Liu

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BU Adaptive Micro Mirrors

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Optical Micro Switches

Texas Instrument DLP

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Torsional parallel plate

capacitor support
Two stable positions (+/10 degrees with respect
to rest)
All aluminum structure
No process steps entails
temperature above 300350 oC.

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Digital Light Mirror Pixels

Mirrors are on 17 m
center-to-center spacing
Gaps are 1.0 m nominal
Mirror transit time is
<20 s from state to state
Tilt Angles are minute at
10 degrees
Four mirrors equal the
width of a human hair
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Digital Micromirror Device (DMD)

Mirror
-10 deg

Mirror
+10 deg

Hinge
Yoke

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CMOS
Substrate

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Perspective View of Lateral Comb Drive

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Lateral Comb Drive Actuators

Total capacitance is
proportional to the overlap
length and depth of the
fingers, and inversely
proportional to the distance.
Pros:

2 0t ( x x0 )
Ctot N [
cp ]
d
F

x 0

N 0 t 2
V
d

N=4 in above diagram.

Chang Liu

Frequently used in actuators

for its relatively long
achievable driving distance.

Cons
force output is a function of
finger thickness. The
thicker the fingers, the large
force it will be.
Relatively large footprint.
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Transverse Comb Drive Devices

Direction of finger movement is orthogonal to the direction of
fingers.
Pros: Frequently used for sensing for the sensitivity and ease of
fabrication
Cons: not used as actuator because of the physical limit of
distance.

0lt
Csl N (
Cf )
x0 x
0lt
Csr N (
Cf )
x0 x

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Devices Based on Transverse Comb Drive

Analog Device ADXL accelerometer

A movable mass supported by cantilever beams move in response to
acceleration in one specific direction.
Relevant to device performance
sidewall vertical profile
off-axis movement compensation
temperature sensitivity.

Chang Liu

* p 234-236.
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Sandia Electrostatically driven gears

- translating linear motion into continuous rotary motion

Lateral comb drive banks

Mechanical
springs

Gear train
Optical shutter

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http://www.mdl.sandia.gov/micro
machine/images11.html

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Sandia Gears

Use five layer

polysilicon to increase
the thickness t in lateral
comb drive actuators.

Mechanical springs

Position
limiter
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More Sophisticated Micro Gears

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Actuators that Use Fringe Electric Field - Rotary

Motor

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Three phase electrostatic actuator.

Arrows indicate electric field and electrostatic force. The tangential
components cause the motor to rotate.
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Three Phase Motor Operation Principle

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Starting Position -> Apply voltage to group A

electrodes

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Motor tooth aligned to A -> Apply voltage to Group

C electrodes

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Motor tooth aligned to C -> Apply voltage to Group

B electrodes

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Motor tooth aligned to B -> Apply voltage to Group

A electrodes

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Motor tooth aligned to A -> Apply voltage to Group

C electrodes

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Example of High Aspect Ratio Structures

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Some variations

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Large angle
Long distance
Low voltage
Linear movement

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1x4 Optical Switch

Chang Liu

John Grade and Hal Jerman, A large deflection electrostatic actuator for
optical switching applications, IEEE S&A Workshop, 2000, p. 97.
MASS

UIUC

Actuators that Use Fringe Field - Micro Mirrors

with Large Displacement Angle

Torsional mechanical spring

Chang Liu

R. Conant, A flat high freq scanning micromirror, IEEE Sen &Act

Workshop, Hilton Head Island, 2000.

MASS

UIUC

Curled Hinge Comb Drives

Chang Liu

MASS

UIUC

Other Parallel Plate Capacitor - Scratch Drive

Actuator

Chang Liu

Mechanism for realizing

continuous long range
movement.

Scratch drive invented by H. Fujita of Tokyo University.

The motor shown above was made by U. of Colorado, Victor Bright.

MASS

UIUC