Abstract
Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing (QALT) is a solution for assessing thereliability of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). A procedure for QALT is shownin this paper and an attempt to assess the reliability level for a batch of MEMSaccelerometers is reported. The testing plan is application-driven and contains combinedtests: thermal (high temperature) and mechanical stress. Two variants of mechanical stressare used: vibration (at a fixed frequency) and tilting. Original equipment for testing at tiltingand high temperature is used. Tilting is appropriate as application-driven stress, because thetilt movement is a natural environment for devices used for automotive and aerospaceapplications. Also, tilting is used by MEMS accelerometers for anti-theft systems. The testresults demonstrated the excellent reliability of the studied devices, the failure rate in the"worst case" being smaller than 10-7h-1.
Highlights
The Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), with the new variant MOEMS (Micro Optical Electro Mechanical Systems), known as microsystems, are relatively new devices, being developed at the end of 1970s, but not commercialized before the 1990s
In 2004, Andover reported a failure rate of 1.75 ppm for MEMS accelerometers manufactured by MEMSIC [8]. All these results show that MEMS accelerometers are high reliability devices, with low failure rate
We describe the results obtained by a Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing (QALT) approach for a batch of MEMS accelerometers manufactured by ST Microelectronics
Summary
The Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), with the new variant MOEMS (Micro Optical Electro Mechanical Systems), known as microsystems, are relatively new devices, being developed at the end of 1970s, but not commercialized before the 1990s. Fabricated by Integrated Circuit (IC) compatible batch-processing techniques, they are integrating electrical, mechanical, optical, fluidic components. This mixture of components creates many new challenges about MEMS reliability:. A microsystem (MEMS) contains, on a single chip, a sensor, an actuator (a mechanical component) and the electronics. The package should ensure the protection of the chip towards the environment (as for the “classical” microelectronic devices: transistors, ICs, etc.), but is an interface between the sensor and an often harsh, demanding environment. Ratzell emphasized in 2003 “Before microsystems can fulfil their promise, engineers have to understand that the macroscale rules don't necessarily apply” [2]
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