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K A H S B M: Sonicmems Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
K A H S B M: Sonicmems Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
−8
with no change in molecule temperature (ideally smooth 10
surface). The case of α = 1 correspond to full accommo- Fgas< Fgrav Molecular Viscous
regime regime
dations (Tparticle = Tsur f ace ). Typically α > 0.5 for engi-
neering surfaces [13]. If the mean free path of the gas −9
10
molecules is approximately the same as or larger than the Fgrav
flap-surface distance, the molecules leaving the surface
will on average impact the flap with a higher velocity than −10
10 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2
the molecules from the ambient. This average net mo- 10 10 10 10 10 10
Pressure[Torr]
mentum transfer from particles ejected from surface leads
to net force Figure 2. Thermo-kinetic force Fgas and gravity force
Fgrav . Above ∼10 Torr (viscous regime), there is no net
1 Tparticle
Fgas = CpA −1 (2) force on the flaps. Below ∼10 Torr (molecular regime),
2 Tambient
the flaps feel net force upwards. The gravity force domi-
on the flap, where C is geometry constant, p is the ambient nates below ∼10mTorr.
pressure and A is flap area. The geometry constant C can
be calculated from 3-D gas dynamics and depends on the Since the gas force depends on pressure, different
shape of the flap and the distance between the flap and the regimes are observed as illustrated in Figure 2. In the vis-
surface [14]. Here C = 0.5 is used. For flap dimensions cous regime, the gas molecules leaving the substrate equi-
of 100 µm×250 µm, accommodation coefficient α = 0.8 librate with ambient before impacting the flap and there is
pressure of 500 mTorr, and temperatures Tsur f ace =100◦ C no net force on the flap. As the pressure is decreased, the
and Tambient =20◦ C, equation (2) gives Fgas ≈ 90 nN. Al- mean-free path (λ = 5 · 10−3 p−1 cm·Torr in air) increases
though this force is small, it is still two orders of mag- and becomes comparable to the flap dimensions [15]. The
nitude larger than the gravity force for silicon flaps with molecules impacting the flap result in a net force perpen-
same area and thickness of 2 µm. dicular to the substrate. Thus, the flaps are lifted up at
λ [µm]
sembly of Flip-Up Micromirrors”, Sensors and Actuators
A, vol. 66(1-3), pp. 292–298, Apr. 1998.
200 250
[3] T. Ebefors, E. Kälvesten, and G. Stemme, “New Small
Radius Joints based on Thermal Shrinkage of Polyimide
in V-Grooves for Robust Self-Assembly 3D Microstruc-
150 333
tures”, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineer-
ing, vol. 8(3), pp. 188–194, Sep. 1998.
100 500 [4] R. A. A. Syms, “Equilibrium of Hinged and Hinge-
70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 less Structures Rotated Using Surface Tension Forces”,
o
T[ C] Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 4(4),
Figure 4. Measured flap falling pressure thresholds ver- pp. 177–184, Dec. 1995.
sus substrate temperature and the theoretical p-T curve [5] I. Shimoyama, O. Kano, and H. Miura, “3D Micro-
(α = 0.8). Right y-axis shows the calculated mean free Structures Folded by Lorentz Force”, Proceedings of the
path at 25◦ C (flap length 400 µm). 11th Annual International Workshop on Micro Electro
Mechanical Systems, pp. 24–28, Heidelberg, Germany,
Jan. 25-29, 1998.
lationship, however, does not exactly follow equation (2) [6] Y. Li and C. Liu, “Assembly of Micro Optical Com-
because at the low temperatures the transition pressure is ponents Using Magnetic Actuation”, The 10th Interna-
fairly high and the mean free path of the gas molecules tional Conference on Solid-State Sensors and Actuators,
approaches the flap dimensions (flap length in the exper- pp. 1466–1469, Sendai, Japan, Jun. 7-10 1999.
iment was 400 µm). A fraction of molecules will un- [7] K. F. Bohringer, K. Goldberg, M. Cohn, R. Howe,
dergo a collision before impacting the flap and the effec- and A. Pisano, “Parallel Microassembly with Electro-
tive force will be lower. Also in deriving equation (2) static Force Fields”, IEEE International Conference on
Robotics and Automation, vol. 2, pp. 1204–1211, Leu-
it was assumed that the ambient gas temperature does ven, Belgium, 16-20 May 1998.
not depend on substrate temperature. In practice, how- [8] V. Kaajakari and A. Lal, “Electrostatic Batch Assem-
ever, even with the constant air flow from the leak valve, bly of Surface MEMS using Ultrasonic Triboelectricity”,
the heated substrate will cause temperature gradients near Proceedings of the 14th Annual International Workshop
the die surface. Another source of discrepancy can be on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, pp. 10–13, Inter-
the temperature dependency of the accommodation coef- laken, Switzerland, Jan 21-25, 2001.
ficient. Heating of the surface causes desorption, cleaning [9] F. Dinelli, S. K. Biswas, G. A. D. Briggs, and O. V.
Kolosov, “Ultrasound Induced Lubricity in Microscopic
the surface and typically lowering the accommodation co- Contact”, Applied Physics Letters, vol. 71(9), pp. 1177–
efficient [13]. 1179, Sep. 1997.
[10] V. Kaajakari and A. Lal, “Pulsed Ultrasonic Release and
CONCLUSIONS Assembly of Micromachines”, The 10th International
Conference on Solid-State Sensors and Actuators, pp.
A new batch assembly mechanism for surface micro- 212–215, Sendai, Japan, Jun. 7-10, 1999.
machines was demonstrated. The forces on the surface [11] V. Kaajakari, S. Rodgers, and A. Lal, “Ultrasonically
structures were characterized as a function of pressure Driven Surface Micromachined Motor”, Proceedings of
and temperature and three pressure regimes were identi- the 13th Annual International Workshop on Micro Elec-
fied. In the viscous regime, the drag forces dominate. In tro Mechanical Systems, pp. 40–45, Miyazaki, Japan,
Jan. 23-27, 2000.
the molecular flow regime, the thermo-kinetic forces are
[12] J. H. de Boer, The Dynamical Character of Adsorption,
significant but decrease with pressure due to reduced par- Oxford University Press, 1953.
ticle density. At pressures less than 10 mTorr, the thermo- [13] S. C. Saxena and R. K. Joshi, Thermal Accommoda-
kinetic force becomes insignificant. Finally, a PZT vibra- tion and Adsorption Coefficients of Gases, vol. II-1 of
tor/heater that does not require adhesive bonding to the McGraw-Hill/CINDAS Data Series on Material Proper-
silicon could enable assembly in an industrial setting. ties, McGraw Hill, 1981.
[14] H. L. Eschbach and R. Y. Werz, “A Generalized Cor-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS rection Factor for the Knudsen Radiometer Gauge with
Arbitrary Vane and Heater Shape”, Vacuum, vol. 26(2),
We wish to acknowledge NSF-CAREER award for pp. 67–71, Feb. 1976.
funding, and WCAM for technical support in device fab- [15] A. Roth, Vacuum Technology, North-Holland, 2nd ed.,
1982.
rication.