LAUSR

Abstract Long-term structure stability of micro-cantilevers employing the Ti/Au layered design is evaluated by vibration test to demonstrate the advantage toward design of MEMS micro-components. Length of the micro-cantilevers is ranged from 200 to 1000 μm, and the width is at 20 μm. Two types of the Ti/Au layered design are evaluated in this study. One is single Ti/Au layered (SL) design, and one is double Ti/Au layered (DL) design. For the SL design, thickness of the Au layer is at 12 μm (SL12). For the DL design, two sets of micro-cantilevers are prepared. One set has the lower Au layer thickness at 3 μm and the upper Au layer thickness at 12 μm (DL3&12). The other set has the lower Au layer thickness at 10 μm and the upper Au layer thickness at 15 μm (DL10&15). Tip height of the 1000 μm long SL12 micro-cantilever only changes by +11.63 μm after 107 cycles of the vibration, which demonstrates high structure stability against the vibrations provided by the Ti/Au layered design. The ability against fatigue introduced by the vibration is enhanced by the DL design, which tip of the 1000 μm long DL3&12 micro-cantilever only deflects by −2.88 μm after 107 cycles of the vibration. The long-term structure stability is further improved when thicknesses of the two gold layers are increased, which the tip only changes by −1.24 μm after 107 cycles of the vibration for the 1000 μm long DL10&15 micro-cantilever.