Abstract
It is well known that the environment in which micromechanical systems operate significantly affects their performance. It is, therefore, important to characterize micromachine behavior in environments where the humidity, pressure, and chemical composition of the ambient can be precisely controlled. Achieving such a level of environmental control presents significant challenges in view of the required instrumentation. To that end, a custom micromachine characterization system is built that allows for full environmental control (pressure, humidity, and gas composition) while retaining full micromachine characterization techniques (long working distance interferometry, electrical probe connectivity, actuation scripting capability). The system also includes an effective in situ surface cleaning mechanism. As an example of the system's utility, a microcantilever crack healing experiment is conducted and surface adhesion energy measurements are tracked over time after a step change in humidity is applied.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 075006 |
| Journal | Review of Scientific Instruments |
| Volume | 84 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We thank Ryan Pocratsky for characterizing the boroelectric heaters. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CMMI 1030322 and by the Sandia National Laboratories through Award No. 1270979. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Science Foundation | 1030278, CMMI 1030322 |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | |
| National Nuclear Security Administration | DE-AC04-94AL85000 |
| Sandia National Laboratories | 1270979 |