A micro-tensile method for measuring mechanical properties of MEMS materials

Mechanical properties of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) materials are increasingly important with the wide use of miniaturized systems. This paper proposes a new method for measuring mechanical properties of thin films. This method is suitable for thin films with large strain (>5%) and can be applied to samples with different thicknesses. The S-shaped support springs of the test chip are able to improve the measurement accuracy. Specimens of Ni thin film, with a gauge section 50 µm wide, 100 µm long and 5 µm thick, were tested. The measured Young's modulus of Ni thin film is about 32 GPa and the tensile strength is about 750 MPa.