The Sandia MEMS Passive Shock Sensor : dormancy and aging.

This report presents the results of an aging experiment that was established in FY09 and completed in FY10 for the Sandia MEMS Passive Shock Sensor. A total of 37 packages were aged at different temperatures and times, and were then tested after aging to determine functionality. Aging temperatures were selected at 100 C and 150 C, with times ranging from as short as 100 hours to as long as 1 year to simulate a predicted aging of up to 20 years. In all of the tests and controls, 100% of the devices continued to function normally

Shock margin testing of a one-axis MEMS accelerometer.

Shock testing was performed on a selected commercial-off-the-shelf - MicroElectroMechanical System (COTS-MEMS) accelerometer to determine the margin between the published absolute maximum rating for shock and the 'measured' level where failures are observed. The purpose of this testing is to provide baseline data for isolating failure mechanisms under shock and environmental loading in a representative device used or under consideration for use within systems and assemblies of the DOD/DOE weapons complex. The specific device chosen for this study was the AD22280 model of the ADXL78 MEMS Accelerometer manufactured by Analog Devices Inc. This study focuses only on the shock loading response of the device and provides the necessary data for adding influence of environmental exposure to the reliability of this class of devices. The published absolute maximum rating for acceleration in any axis was 4000 G for this device powered or unpowered. Results from this study showed first failures at 8000 G indicating a margin of error of two. Higher shock level testing indicated that an in-plane, but off-axis acceleration was more damaging than one in the sense direction

Acceleration of dormant storage effects to address the reliability of silicon surface micromachined Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS).

Qualification of microsystems for weapon applications is critically dependent on our ability to build confidence in their performance, by predicting the evolution of their behavior over time in the stockpile. The objective of this work was to accelerate aging mechanisms operative in surface micromachined silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) with contacting surfaces that are stored for many years prior to use, to determine the effects of aging on reliability, and relate those effects to changes in the behavior of interfaces. Hence the main focus was on 'dormant' storage effects on the reliability of devices having mechanical contacts, the first time they must move. A large number ({approx}1000) of modules containing prototype devices and diagnostic structures were packaged using the best available processes for simple electromechanical devices. The packaging processes evolved during the project to better protect surfaces from exposure to contaminants and water vapor. Packages were subjected to accelerated aging and stress tests to explore dormancy and operational environment effects on reliability and performance. Functional tests and quantitative measurements of adhesion and friction demonstrated that the main failure mechanism during dormant storage is change in adhesion and friction, precipitated by loss of the fluorinated monolayer applied after fabrication. The data indicate that damage to the monolayer can occur at water vapor concentrations as low as 500 ppm inside the package. The most common type of failure was attributed to surfaces that were in direct contact during aging. The application of quantitative methods for monolayer lubricant analysis showed that even though the coverage of vapor-deposited monolayers is generally very uniform, even on hidden surfaces, locations of intimate contact can be significantly depleted in initial concentration of lubricating molecules. These areas represent defects in the film prone to adsorption of water or contaminants that can cause movable structures to adhere. These analysis methods also indicated significant variability in the coverage of lubricating molecules from one coating process to another, even for identical processing conditions. The variability was due to residual molecules left in the deposition chamber after incomplete cleaning. The coating process was modified to result in improved uniformity and total coverage. Still, a direct correlation was found between the resulting static friction behavior of MEMS interfaces, and the absolute monolayer coverage. While experimental results indicated that many devices would fail to start after aging, the modeling approach used here predicted that all the devices should start. Adhesion modeling based upon values of adhesion energy from cantilever beams is therefore inadequate. Material deposition that bridged gaps was observed in some devices, and potentially inhibits start-up more than the adhesion model indicates. Advances were made in our ability to model MEMS devices, but additional combined experimental-modeling studies will be needed to advance the work to a point of providing predictive capability. The methodology developed here should prove useful in future assessments of device aging, however. Namely, it consisted of measuring interface properties, determining how they change with time, developing a model of device behavior incorporating interface behavior, and then using the age-aware interface behavior model to predict device function

The Sandia MEMS Passive Shock Sensor : dormancy and aging.

This report presents the results of an aging experiment that was established in FY09 and completed in FY10 for the Sandia MEMS Passive Shock Sensor. A total of 37 packages were aged at different temperatures and times, and were then tested after aging to determine functionality. Aging temperatures were selected at 100 C and 150 C, with times ranging from as short as 100 hours to as long as 1 year to simulate a predicted aging of up to 20 years. In all of the tests and controls, 100% of the devices continued to function normally

Capacitor discharge pulse analysis.

Capacitors used in firing sets and other high discharge current applications are discharge tested to verify performance of the capacitor against the application requirements. Parameters such as capacitance, inductance, rise time, pulse width, peak current and current reversal must be verified to ensure that the capacitor will meet the application needs. This report summarizes an analysis performed on the discharge current data to extract these parameters by fitting a second-order system model to the discharge data and using this fit to determine the resulting performance metrics. Details of the theory and implementation are presented. Using the best-fit second-order system model to extract these metrics results in less sensitivity to noise in the measured data and allows for direct extraction of the total series resistance, inductance, and capacitance

Shock margin testing of a one-axis MEMS accelerometer.

Shock testing was performed on a selected commercial-off-the-shelf - MicroElectroMechanical System (COTS-MEMS) accelerometer to determine the margin between the published absolute maximum rating for shock and the 'measured' level where failures are observed. The purpose of this testing is to provide baseline data for isolating failure mechanisms under shock and environmental loading in a representative device used or under consideration for use within systems and assemblies of the DOD/DOE weapons complex. The specific device chosen for this study was the AD22280 model of the ADXL78 MEMS Accelerometer manufactured by Analog Devices Inc. This study focuses only on the shock loading response of the device and provides the necessary data for adding influence of environmental exposure to the reliability of this class of devices. The published absolute maximum rating for acceleration in any axis was 4000 G for this device powered or unpowered. Results from this study showed first failures at 8000 G indicating a margin of error of two. Higher shock level testing indicated that an in-plane, but off-axis acceleration was more damaging than one in the sense direction

Capacitor discharge pulse analysis.

Capacitors used in firing sets and other high discharge current applications are discharge tested to verify performance of the capacitor against the application requirements. Parameters such as capacitance, inductance, rise time, pulse width, peak current and current reversal must be verified to ensure that the capacitor will meet the application needs. This report summarizes an analysis performed on the discharge current data to extract these parameters by fitting a second-order system model to the discharge data and using this fit to determine the resulting performance metrics. Details of the theory and implementation are presented. Using the best-fit second-order system model to extract these metrics results in less sensitivity to noise in the measured data and allows for direct extraction of the total series resistance, inductance, and capacitance