Damage Evolution in MEMS Pressure Sensors during High Temperature Operating Life and Prolonged Storage at Sub-Zero Temperature

Abstract

MEMS Pressure Sensors in harsh environment applications may be subjected to high-temperature operation and prolonged storage at sub-zero temperatures. The adverse effects of thermal and mechanical stresses on MEMS devices are known, but the damage progression through the lifetime of a MEMS device while operating under harsh environmental conditions has not been quantified. Little to no information exists on incremental deterioration data for commercial MEMS pressure sensors under low temperature storage (LTS) conditions at −35°C and high temperature operating life (HTOL) at 125°C. Not much effort has been made in gathering the attributes of MEMS pressure sensors subjected to high temperature operating life and effect of extreme sub-zero storage conditions. Data on reliability of the devices is needed under conditions similar to their operating field environment in order to document the incremental damage, identify the potential failure sites and provide reasonable solutions for an effective design. In this research study, the effects of high temperature operating life and low temperature storage conditions have been characterized for MEMS pressure sensors. MPL3115a2 is a commercially available MEMS pressure sensor. Sub-zero storage condition of −35°C and high temperature operating life at 125°C, 3.3V have been applied to the MEMS pressure sensor. The pressure sensor test samples have been subjected to a low vacuum at 640mmhg, which falls within the full scale range of the MEMS device, in order to measure the output pressure. The focus of the study is to measure any incremental shift and deterioration in parameters such as absolute pressure and offset of the pressure sensor.