Mitigating Stiction Failures in In-use M/NEMS-based Sensors using a Reliable Piezoelectric RESET Mechanism

This paper presents a reliable piezoelectric RESET mechanism designed to overcome stiction in MEMS-based sensors during operation. In addition to addressing stiction, the proposed RESET mechanism serves as a beam stop during excessive vibrations or acceleration, preventing further damage to the suspended structure. The integration of this mechanism into the fabrication process requires only one additional lithography step, making it efficient for CMOS-MEMS integration. The RESET functionality has been successfully demonstrated through 1000 cycles without any performance degradation, confirming its robustness and reliability.