Development of a model for predicting dry stiction in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

Abstract

Adhesion between micro parts, also referred to as stiction, is a major failure mode in MEMS. Undesirable stiction, which results from contact between surfaces, can severely compromise the reliability of MEMS. In this paper, a model is developed to predict the dry stiction between uncharged micro parts in MEMS. In dry stiction, the interacting surfaces are assumed to be either hydrophobic or placed in dry environment. In this condition, the van der Waals (vdW) and asperity deformation forces are dominant. Here, a model is developed for the vdW force between rough micro surfaces and the new model is combined with a newly developed multiple asperity point model for the elastic/plastic deformation of rough surfaces in contact to solve for the equilibrium condition of the forces. This, in turn, will yield the equilibrium distance between micro surfaces, using which the apparent work of adhesion can be found. The result of the theory is compared with the available experimental data from literature. The developed model can be easily used for design purpose. If the topographic data and material constants are known, the adhesion parameters can be quickly calculated using the model.