Design and simulation of a self-assembled MEMS force sensor for Minimally Invasive Surgery

This work describes the design and Finite Element Method (FEM) simulation of an integrated force microsensor which introduces a self-assembled tactile structure with potential application to Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). The sensor is designed to be compatible with Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor-Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (CMOS-MEMS) technology under monolithic microfabrication processes, and allows force measurements up to the micronewton scale.