FEM analysis of multilayered MEMS device under thermal and residual stress

It is essential to ensure reliability to produce a Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems(MEMS) on commercial scale. Reliability problem in inkjet printhead, one of MEMS, is also very important. To eject an ink drop, temperature of heater must be high so that ink contacting with surface reaches above 280° C on the instant. Its heater is embedded in the thin multi-layer in which several materials are deposited. MEMS processes are the main sources of residual stresses development. Residual stress is one of the factors reducing the reliability of MEMS devices. We measure residual stresses of single layers that consist of multilayer. FE analysis is performed using design of experiment. Transient analysis for heat transfer is performed to get a temperature distribution. And then static analysis is performed with the temperature distribution obtained by heat transfer analysis and the measured residual stresses to get a stress distribution in the structure. Although the residual stress is bigger than thermal stress, thermal stress is more influential on fatigue life.