Design, modeling, fabrication and testing of a MEMS capacitive bending strain sensor

Abstract

Presented herein are the design, modelling, fabrication and testing of a MEMSbased capacitive bending strain sensor utilizing a comb drive. This sensor is designed to be integrated with a telemetry system that will monitor changes in bending strain to assist orthopaedic surgeons with the diagnosis of spinal fusion. ABAQUS/CAE version 6.5 finite element analysis (FEA) modelling software was used to predict sensor actuation, capacitance output and the avoidance of material failure. Highly doped boron silicon wafers with a low resistivity were fabricated into an interdigitated finger array employing deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) to create 150 νm sidewalls with 25 νm spacing between the adjacent fingers. For testing, the sensor was adhered to a steel beam, which was subjected to four-point bending. This mechanically changed the spacing between the interdigitated fingers as a function of strain. As expected, the capacitance output increased as an inverse function of the spacing between the interdigitated fingers, beginning with an initial capacitance of 7.56 pF at the unstrained state and increasing inversely to 17.04 pF at 1571 ν of bending strain. The FEA and analytical models were comparable with experimental data. The largest differential of 0.65 pF or 6.33% occurred at 1000 ν. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.