A Rapid, Reliable and Less-destructive On-chip Mass Measurement for 3D Composite Material Testing Microstructures

Mass measurements of complex three-dimensional microstructures are essential to the design and development of microsystems. However, the mass measurements of such microstructures require several manipulation steps which are not well controlled. We have demonstrated a rapid, reliable and less-destructive on-chip mass measurement method by incorporating with AFM micromanipulation. It is based on AFM pick-measure-place micromanipulation using Van der Waals attraction and the mass measurement by resonant frequency shift. The measurement sensitivity revealed to be 25 Hz/pg and it could be promising to characterize MEMS with complex geometries and composite materials.