Low-cost post-CMOS integration of electroplated microstructures for inertial sensing

Wycisk, Michael; Tonnesen, Thorsten; Binder, J.; Michaelis, Sven; Timme, H.-J.

doi:10.1016/s0924-4247(00)00295-8

Cited by 60 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Feature heights have increased significantly with the development of new thick-layer resists [27], [28]. The main advantage of metal micromachining is its low temperature, which has allowed postprocessing of MEMS onto completed circuits [29].…”

Section: B Other Surface Micromachining Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface tension-powered self-assembly of microstructures - The state-of-the-art

Syms¹,

Yeatman²,

Bright

et al. 2003

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

323

238

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Abstract-Because of the low dimensional power of its force scaling law, surface tension is appropriate for carrying out reshaping and assembly in the microstructure size domain. This paper reviews work on surface tension powered self-assembly of microstructures. The existing theoretical approaches for rotational assembly are unified. The demonstrated fabrication processes are compared. Mechanisms for accurately determining the assembled shape are discussed, and the limits on accuracy and structural distortion are considered. Applications in optics, electronics and mechanics are described. More complex operations (including the combination of self-assembly and self-organization) are also reviewed.[926]Index Terms-Capillary force, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microsystems, microoptoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS), self-assembly, surface tension.

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Section: B Other Surface Micromachining Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface tension-powered self-assembly of microstructures - The state-of-the-art

Syms¹,

Yeatman²,

Bright

et al. 2003

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

323

238

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…MEMS inertial switches, also called shock sensors or threshold accelerometers, have been a major focus for research in recent years (Younis et al 2007), because they have great potential to be widely used in toys, accessories, automotive and health monitoring of products and storage due to their smaller size, lower cost, better functionality and reliability than conventional mechanical ones (Wycisk et al 2000;Ma et al 2003). Moreover, they can replace accelerometer systems for sensing and actuation with much less cost, since they have simpler structure and interface circuit, lower cost and less power consumption (Ongkodjojo and Tay 2006;McNamara and Gianchandani 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2) Traditional inertial micro-switch, as shown in Fig. 1b, where the proof mass will rebound after the contact, switching off the external circuit (Wycisk et al 2000;Ma et al 2003). Therefore the switch signal is a pulse instead of step signal and the device can be reused without reset.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic simulation of a contact-enhanced MEMS inertial switch in Simulink®

et al. 2011

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A novel contact-enhanced design of MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) inertial switch was proposed and modeled in Simulink Ò . The contact effect is improved by an easily realized modification on the traditional design, i.e. introducing a movable contact point between the movable electrode (proof mass) and the stationary electrode, therefore forming a dual mass-spring system. The focus of this paper is limited to a vertically driven unidirectional one for the purposes of demonstration, but this design concept and Simulink Ò model is universal for various kinds of inertial micro-switches. The dynamic simulation confirmed the contact-enhancing mechanism, showing that the switch-on time can be prolonged for the dynamic shock acceleration and the bouncing effect can be reduced for the quasi-static acceleration. The threshold acceleration of the inertial switch is determined by the proof mass-spring system's natural frequency. Since the inertial switches were fabricated by the multilayer electroplating technology, the proof mass thickness were assigned two values, 100 and 50 lm, in order to get threshold levels of 56 and 133 g respectively for the dynamic acceleration of half-sine wave with 1 ms duration. Other factors that influence the dynamic response, such as the squeeze film damping and the contact point-spring system's natural frequency were also discussed. The fabricated devices were characterized by the drop hammer experiment, and the results were in agreement with the simulation predictions. The switch-on time was prolonged to over 50 ls from the traditional design's 10 ls, and could reach as long as 120 ls. Finally, alternative device configurations of the contact-enhancing mechanism were presented, including a laterally driven bidirectional inertial switch and a multidirectional one.

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“…The passive vibration threshold sensors (i.e. acceleration switches) based on MEMS are widely used in many applications such as automobiles, accessories, and toys Zimmermann et al 1995;Tønnesen et al 1997;Wycisk et al 2000). As a typical kind of inertial sensor, the micro-machined vibration threshold sensor has been reported in a lot of literature published since Frobenius et al 1972 presented an all-metal micro-cantilever electromechanical acceleration switch.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%