Now that researchers have succeeded in making semiconductors with functions like memory and processing, they are striving to endow such circuits with some micro brawn to go with their micro brains.

MicroElectroMechanical Systems, or MEMS, is an emerging technology for making miniature tools operated by integrated circuits. Examples include mini accelerometers that sense a crash and tell an airbag to inflate, tiny flowmeters that control release of measured doses of medicine directly into blood vessels, or microrotors like the one shown above.

NIST recently initiated a new effort to develop ways to measure stress, strain, elasticity, and other mechanical properties of thin films used in making MEMS. While integrated circuit test methods for measuring electrical properties like resistance and voltage are well advanced, testing protocols for mechanical properties are in their infancy.

As part of this effort, NIST collected designs for 66 test structures from four different universities and non-profit semiconductor processing facility, MCNC. NIST researchers are evaluating the various structures to see which one perform best for measuring specific mechanical properties. Ultimately, they will incorporate the best designs in MCNC's design library long with testing procedures that MEMS manufacturers can use to tailor reliable production control systems that are traceable to NIST standards.

Contact: Janet Marshall, (301) 975-2049