Design Rule and Orientation Layout for MEMS Curved Beams on Silicon

An analysis method used to choose a suitable structural orientation layout for a microcompliant mechanism, which includes multi-curved-beams, is introduced, particularly, for fabricating microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) thin-curved-beam microstructures on (100) and (111) single-crystal silicon (SCS) wafers. The achievement of a large deflection of a fabricated SCS device verifies the usability of this design rule. The orientation layouts of the device for a large deflection are restricted to a specific region. Based on the analysis method, it is better to follow a 21
^°
safe region between the ¿100 ¿ and ¿110 ¿ orientations in order to decrease the possibility of crystal slip failure. Using this design consideration, one can design more robust MEMS compliant mechanisms from SCS, exploiting its ideal elasticity.