On MEMS Wafer Assessment for Switching Devices Exposed to Direct Metal-Contacts and Thermal Histories

Presented work reports a wafer assessment method based on testing data of micromachined devices fabricated for in-contact switching. In most cases, MEMS wafers are subjected to harsh environments (such as high-temperature and mechanical shock), which change the wafer condition. Due to such processing steps (e.g. packaging), typical design goals, for example, thin-to-thick electrode separations and predefined geometric forces in actuating M/NEMS, are hard to achieve. Therefore, micromachined components must be protected from mechanical damage. Herein, we analyze the mechanical switching event of micron-sized μC. The purpose here is to detect how the processing environment influences electronic response.