A key focus of the article was on MEMS reliability, with Sandia National Laboratories MEMS reliability program being highlighted. Sandia reliability researcher Danelle Tanner examines micromachines in the SHiMMeR test system. Bill Miller, manager of Sandia s Reliability Physics Department, indicated the current focus of research using SHiMMeR continues to be investigating the effect of humidity on the reliability of these micromachined devices. As shown in figure 2, low humidity has been found to accelerate the failures due to wear and tear.
Low humidity increases the clumping of tiny particles that then jam the moving parts.
As indicated in this article, Sandia s leading edge MEMS reliability research has prompted extensive interest from other MEMS researchers both in academia and industry. As a result, Sandia has added a third MEMS short course that focuses just on the subject of MEMS reliability and failure analysis. Content is not to be used in publications, presentations, or commercial endeavors without permission. All Rights Reserved.