Magnetic Force and Thermal Expansion as Failure Mechanisms of Electrothermal MEMS Actuators Under Electrostatic Discharge Testing

Like microelectronic circuits, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices are susceptible to damage by electrostatic discharge (ESD). At Sandia National Laboratories, polysilicon electrothermal MEMS actuators have been subjected to ESD pulses to examine that susceptibility. Failures, in the form of cracks at points of high stress concentration, occurred that could not be explained by thermal degradation of the polysilicon caused by excessive heating, or by excessive displacement of the legs of the actuator of the same nature that occur in normal operation. One hypothesis presented in this paper is that the internal magnetic forces between the legs of the actuator, resulting from the ESD-associated high current pulses, might produce vibrations of amplitude sufficient to produce these cracks. However, a dynamic analysis based on simple beam theory indicated that such cracks are unlikely to occur, except under rather extreme conditions. On the other hand, these same current pulses also cause resistive heating of the legs and, therefore, thermally induced compression that can lead to buckling. Buckling stresses, particularly when augmented by magnetic forces, can readily explain failure. Both the magnetic and thermal analyses were performed using the human body model and the machine model of ESD. A justification for ignoring shuttle motion and eddy currents induced in the substrate during the ESD pulse is presented, as well.