Reliability based Design of MEMS Accelerometer Considering Residual Stress and Temperature Variations

In this work, we analysed the difference between the measurement and simulation results of thermal drift of a custom designed capacitive MEMS accelerometer. It was manufactured in X-FAB XMB10 technology together with a dedicated readout circuit in X-FAB XP018 technology. It turned out that the temperature sensitivity of the sensor’s output is nonlinear and particularly strong in the negative Celsius temperature range. It was found that the temperature drift is mainly caused by the MEMS sensor and the influence of the readout circuit is minimal. Moreover, the measurements showed that this temperature dependence is the same regardless of applied acceleration. Simulation of the accelerometer’s model allowed us to estimate the contribution of post-manufacturing mismatch on the thermal drift; for our sensor, the mismatch-induced drift accounted for about 6% of total thermal drift. It is argued that the remaining 94% of the drift could be a result of the presence of residual stress in the structure after fabrication.

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An efficient design of dual-axis MEMS accelerometer considering microfabrication process limitations and operating environment variations

Microelectronics International ◽

10.1108/mi-02-2021-0023 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Muhammad Ahmad Raza Tahir ◽

Muhammad Mubasher Saleem ◽

Syed Ali Raza Bukhari ◽

Amir Hamza ◽

Rana Iqtidar Shakoor

Keyword(s):

Residual Stress ◽

Operating Temperature ◽

Design Approach ◽

Design Parameters ◽

Operating Pressure ◽

Efficient Design ◽

Content Type ◽

Mems Accelerometer ◽

Input Acceleration

PurposeThis paper aims to present an efficient design approach for the micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers considering design parameters affecting the long-term reliability of these inertial sensors in comparison to traditional iterative microfabrication and experimental characterization approach. Design/methodology/approachA dual-axis capacitive MEMS accelerometer design is presented considering the microfabrication process constraints of the foundry process. The performance of the MEMS accelerometer is analyzed through finite element method– based simulations considering main design parameters affecting the long-term reliability. The effect of microfabrication process induced residual stress, operating pressure variations in the range of 10 mTorr to atmospheric pressure, thermal variations in the operating temperature range of −40°C to 100°C and impulsive input acceleration at different input frequency values is presented in detail. FindingsThe effect of residual stress is negligible on performance of the MEMS accelerometer due to efficient design of mechanical suspension beams. The effect of operating temperature and pressure variations is negligible on energy loss factor. The thermal strain at high temperature causes the sensing plates to deform out of plane. The input dynamic acceleration range is 34 g at room temperature, which decreases with operating temperature variations. At low frequency input acceleration, the input acts as a quasi-static load, whereas at high frequency, it acts as a dynamic load for the MEMS accelerometer. Originality/valueIn comparison with the traditional MEMS accelerometer design approaches, the proposed design approach focuses on the analysis of critical design parameters that affect the long-term reliability of MEMS accelerometer.

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Observations of the spatial structure of interstellar hydrogen

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s007418090010066x ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 45-46

Author(s):

Carl Heiles

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Spatial Structure ◽

Velocity Dispersion ◽

Temperature Variations

High-resolution 21-cm line observations in a region aroundlII= 120°,b11= +15°, have revealed four types of structure in the interstellar hydrogen: a smooth background, large sheets of density 2 atoms cm-3, clouds occurring mostly in groups, and ‘Cloudlets’ of a few solar masses and a few parsecs in size; the velocity dispersion in the Cloudlets is only 1 km/sec. Strong temperature variations in the gas are in evidence.

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Clean Electron Microscope Substrate Films Used for Micrometeorite Collection and Study

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100061847 ◽

1967 ◽

Vol 25 ◽

pp. 366-367

Author(s):

D. M. Davies ◽

R. Kemner ◽

E. F. Fullam

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Electron Microscope ◽

High Altitude ◽

Amyl Acetate ◽

Temperature Variations ◽

Film Forming ◽

Film Specimen ◽

Particulate Contaminants

All serious electron microscopists at one time or another have been concerned with the cleanliness and freedom from artifacts of thin film specimen support substrates. This is particularly important where there are relatively few particles of a sample to be found for study, as in the case of micrometeorite collections. For the deposition of such celestial garbage through the use of balloons, rockets, and aircraft, the thin film substrates must have not only all the attributes necessary for use in the electron microscope, but also be able to withstand rather wide temperature variations at high altitude, vibration and shock inherent in the collection vehicle's operation and occasionally an unscheduled violent landing.Nitrocellulose has been selected as a film forming material that meets these requirements yet lends itself to a relatively simple clean-up procedure to remove particulate contaminants. A 1% nitrocellulose solution is prepared by dissolving “Parlodion” in redistilled amyl acetate from which all moisture has been removed.

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TEM investigations of surface residual stress relaxation in A12O3 and Al2O3-SiC nanocomposite

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100170876 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 628-629

Author(s):

J. Fang ◽

H. M. Chan ◽

M. P. Harmer

Keyword(s):

Residual Stress ◽

Single Phase ◽

Stress Relief ◽

Stress Recovery ◽

Surface Residual Stress ◽

Microscopic Mechanism ◽

Sic Particles ◽

Annealing Procedure ◽

The Difference ◽

Nano Size

It was Niihara et al. who first discovered that the fracture strength of Al2O3 can be increased by incorporating as little as 5 vol.% of nano-size SiC particles (>1000 MPa), and that the strength would be improved further by a simple annealing procedure (>1500 MPa). This discovery has stimulated intense interest on Al2O3/SiC nanocomposites. Recent indentation studies by Fang et al. have shown that residual stress relief was more difficult in the nanocomposite than in pure Al2O3. In the present work, TEM was employed to investigate the microscopic mechanism(s) for the difference in the residual stress recovery in these two materials.Bulk samples of hot-pressed single phase Al2O3, and Al2O3 containing 5 vol.% 0.15 μm SiC particles were simultaneously polished with 15 μm diamond compound. Each sample was cut into two pieces, one of which was subsequently annealed at 1300° for 2 hours in flowing argon. Disks of 3 mm in diameter were cut from bulk samples.

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Residual stress measurements and modeling of built-up Box-T sections

Thin-Walled Structures ◽

10.1016/j.tws.2020.107336 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 160 ◽

pp. 107336

Author(s):

Ziqian Zhang ◽

Gang Shi ◽

Xuesen Chen ◽

Lijun Wang ◽

Le Zhou

Keyword(s):

Residual Stress ◽

Stress Measurements

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Comparative study of the effective parameters on residual stress relaxation in welded aluminum plates under cyclic loading

Mechanics & Industry ◽

10.1051/meca/2020061 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 505

Author(s):

Yousef Ghaderi Dehkordi ◽

Ali Pourkamali Anaraki ◽

Amir Reza Shahani

Keyword(s):

Residual Stress ◽

Cyclic Loading ◽

Stress Relaxation ◽

Stress Amplitude ◽

Cyclic Plasticity ◽

Mean Stress ◽

Effective Parameters ◽

Perfect Plasticity ◽

Residual Stress Relaxation ◽

Aluminum Plates

The prediction of residual stress relaxation is essential to assess the safety of welded components. This paper aims to study the influence of various effective parameters on residual stress relaxation under cyclic loading. In this regard, a 3D finite element modeling is performed to determine the residual stress in welded aluminum plates. The accuracy of this analysis is verified through experiment. To study the plasticity effect on stress relaxation, two plasticity models are implemented: perfect plasticity and combined isotropic-kinematic hardening. Hence, cyclic plasticity characterization of the material is specified by low cycle fatigue tests. It is found that the perfect plasticity leads to greater stress relaxation. In order to propose an accurate model to compute the residual stress relaxation, the Taguchi L18 array with four 3-level factors and one 6-level is employed. Using statistical analysis, the order of factors based on their effect on stress relaxation is determined as mean stress, stress amplitude, initial residual stress, and number of cycles. In addition, the stress relaxation increases with an increase in mean stress and stress amplitude.

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