Metrology of electromagnetic static actuation of MEMS microbridge using atomic force microscopy

The objective of this paper is to describe application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for characterization and calibration of static deflection of electromagnetically and/or thermally actuated micro-electromechanical (MEMS) bridge. The investigated MEMS structure is formed by a silicon nitride bridge and a thin film metal path enabling electromagnetic and/or thermal deflection actuation. We present how static microbridge deflection can be measured using contact mode AFM technology with resolution of 0.05 nm in the range of up to tens of nm. We also analyze, for very small structure deflections and under defined and controlled load force varied in the range up to ca. 32 nN, properties of thermal and electromagnetical microbridge deflection actuation schemes.