Open Model for External Mechanical Stress of Semiconductors and MEMS for Cascade Microtech REL 3600 probe station

thingiverse

This project defines the specifics of a bending equipment solution and calibration required to characterize external mechanical stress in semiconductors and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). The equipment is designed for use in a probe station for electrical characterization of devices under controlled external mechanical stress. References are listed below. The project was developed using SketchUp 3D modeling software, from Trimble Inc. The bending equipment and the probe support were designed to be used in the Cascade Microtech REL 3600 probe station, which is available in our laboratory. However, the design files can be easily adapted to other probe stations. All original design files are made available in the SketchUp “.skp” and universal “.stl” file format under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-SharingAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) 3.0 license. It was chosen to ensure that it can continue to be openly developed and distributed to the scientific community. The papers listed in references intend to provide guidance on defining the specifics of the bending equipment and calibration used for characterization of mechanical stress in semiconductor materials and MEMS. Having non-encapsulated IC samples in mind, the present bending setup can control the amount of uniaxial stress induced in the sample. The mechanical bending parts and materials required are described in table 1. The upper part of the sample will receive a tensile strain, while the lower part will receive a compression strain. To change from tensile to compressive, it is necessary to change all four cylinders' positions. To apply biaxial strain, the equipment should use two concentric rings. Table 2 describes the required parts and materials for the elevated probes support. The bending equipment and the elevated probe supports are designed to fit in the Cascade Microtech REL 3600 probe station without losing the use of the microscope. All main parts were designed and 3D printed with PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament of 1.75mm, reinforced with steel cylinder liner rails to ensure the stability of the equipment. Two attached step motors are controlled by an Arduino Nano board to control the movement of the bending equipment remotely from outside of the probe station. All code files for the Arduino and Android app project will be available soon in a GitHub repository. Table 1 - Parts and materials required for the mechanical bending setup: Quantity Description 4 pcs LM8UU steel linear bearing bushing 4 pcs 90x12mm steel cylinder liner rail (vertical guides) 4 pcs 10x6mm steel cylinder liner rail 2 pcs 10mm long 3/8” threaded rod stainless steel 6 pcs 3/8” stainless steel finished hex nut 2 pcs 3/8” stainless steel nylon insert lock finished hex nuts 20 pcs M3x6mm stainless steel zinc-plated phillips pan-head machine screw 4 pcs M3x20mm stainless steel zinc-plated phillips pan-head machine screw 4 pcs M3 stainless steel nylon insert lock finished hex nuts 4 pcs Inside 3/8” outside 1” stainless steel flat washer 372g PLA (Polylactic Acid) filament of 1.75mm Table 2 - Parts required for the elevated probes support: Quantity Description 1 pc Arduino Nano Developing Board 2 pcs Step motor SM1.8-A1740CHNBK-CS 1 pc Bluetooth Module HM-10 2 pcs Driver DRV8825 2 pcs Digital Caliper 1 pc 100 µF 50V Capacitor (C4) 1 pc 0.33 µF 50V Capacitor (C1) 1 pc 0.1 µF 50V Capacitor (C3) 1 pc 0.1 Ω Resistor (R10) 8 pcs 10 KΩ Resistor (R2 – R9) 1 pc 1.5 KΩ Resistor (R11) 1 pc 3.3 KΩ Resistor (R1) 2 pcs 1 KΩ Resistor (R16; R18) 2 pcs 2.2 KΩ Resistor (R17; R19) 1 pc 12V Switched-Mode Power Supply 4 pcs NPN Transistor 2N3904 (T1 – T4) References: Open Model for External Mechanical Stress of Semiconductors and MEMS https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMTS.2018.8383795