Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078
DOI 10.1007/s00542-015-2469-8
TECHNICAL PAPER
Effect of creep in RF MEMS static and dynamic behavior
Aurelio Somà · Muhammad Mubasher Saleem ·
Giorgio de Pasquale 
Received: 28 January 2015 / Accepted: 10 February 2015 / Published online: 21 February 2015
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015
Abstract  This paper presents the experimental charac-
terization of the creep effect in electrostatically actuated
gold microstructures. The tested specimens follow the typi-
cal configuration of the microbridge based radio frequency
microelectromechanical systems switches and varactors.
Initially, the plastic creep strain accumulation with time
is measured for the specimens with different geometric
dimensions and at different actuation voltages and tem-
peratures. To avoid the size and cumulative heating effects,
three specimens with the same geometric dimensions,
actuation voltages and constant temperatures are tested.
The test results allowed decoupling the permanent plas-
tic strains due to the creep effect and reversible anelastic
strains due to the viscoelastic behavior. The pull-in voltage
and natural frequency values measured before and after the
creep tests are compared, revealing the mechanical stiffness
decrease caused by creep.
1 Introduction
The accurate characterization of microelectromechanical
systems (MEMS) failure modes has been a major concern
for the MEMS reliability studies in last years. A number
of potential failure modes have been identified and decou-
pled and can be categorized into two major groups i.e.
A. Somà · M. M. Saleem (*) · G. de Pasquale 
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Turin, Italy
e-mail: mubasher.saleem@polito.it
A. Somà
e-mail: aurelio.soma@polito.it
G. de Pasquale
e-mail: giorgio.depasquale@polito.it
mechanical and electrical failure modes. The mechanical
failure modes include fracture (due to overload, shock),
fatigue (due to repeated loading over a long period of time),
wear (related to the surface adhesion, abrasion) and creep
(due to viscoelastic and plastic time dependent deforma-
tion of material under the influence of the applied mechani-
cal stress and temperature). The electrical failure modes in
MEMS are stiction (due to electrostatic charging), charge
accumulation (due to electric stress and radiation) and
electrical shorts (due to dielectric material degradation,
electromigration and oxidation) (Huang et al. 2012). In the
literature several experimental studies have been reported
to predict and explain the MEMS failure modes (Younis
et al. 2007; Subhash et al. 2011; Li et al. 2013; Brusa et al.
2013; Langfelder et al. 2009). The authors have previously
presented the effects of the alternate loads on the gold
microstructures fatigue behavior and observed some rela-
tions to the well established fatigue mechanism at macro-
scale (Somà and De Pasquale 2009; De Pasquale and Somà
2011). The experimental methodologies for the investiga-
tion of different parameters effect on the dynamic response
of the microsystems strictly related to the microscale are
presented by the authors in De Pasquale and Somà (2009,
2010).
Highly conductive metal thin films of Al, Ni, Au and Pt
have been widely used in radio frequency microelectro-
mechanical systems (RF MEMS) for improved electrical
performance. However, reduced thickness of thin films and
fabrication techniques such as sputter deposition, electro-
deposition and evaporation result in a considerable differ-
ence of the electrical (conductivity, resistivity), mechanical
(intrinsic stress, elasticity, ductility, adhesion) and thermal
(expansion coefficient, thermal conductivity, melting point)
properties compared to those of bulk material (Wetzig
2003). The performance and life of the metal structure
13

1068
layer based RF MEMS is significantly affected by the tem-
perature induced plastic deformation, especially for the
space applications where the devices are kept actuated for
long time under severe temperature fluctuations.
Creep is the time dependent accumulation of plas-
tic strain in the material under the influence of an applied
stress. Figure 1 shows the typical creep-strain curve associ-
ated to creep. The shape and the duration of creep stages
depend on the applied temperature and stress. In the pri-
mary stage, creep strain rate decreases due to the increasing
of material strength as a result of the dislocation movement
in the crystal lattice of the material (work hardening). In
the secondary stage, creep strain rate reaches its minimum
due to the balance between the work hardening and thermal
softening. The creep life of the material strongly depends
on the secondary stage steady-state creep strain. The vari-
ables affecting the secondary stage steady-state creep strain
are generally identified to model the dominant creep mech-
anism in the material. In the tertiary stage, creep strain rate
accelerates as a result of the accumulated damage, followed
by the fracture of the specimen. The creep strains are the
combination of the permanent strains (i.e. creep effect)
and the fully recoverable strains, often termed as anelastic
strains due to the viscoelastic behavior.
In MEMS, the effect of the creep was originally
observed in digital micromirror devices (DMD) fabri-
cated of Al (Douglass 1998). The unloaded position of
the micromirror was tilted by some degrees with respect
to the original position for a long time bias voltage and
65 °C temperature. Some of the significant initial exper-
imental investigations into the creep phenomenon in
MEMS are presented in Vickers-Kirby et al. (2000),
Cho et al. (2002), Allameh (2003) and Modlinski et al.
(2004, 2005). Vickers-Kirby et al. (2000) reported creep
Fig. 1  Typical creep strain–time relationship curve of pure metal
13
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078
in MEMS accelerometers made of Si, Ni and Au and
demonstrated Au to be most affected, considering the
decrease in device turn-on voltage over time period of
30 h. Tuck et al. (2005) observed plastic deformation in
2  μm thick polysilicon film at a temperature of 1300 K
and stress level of 89 MPa for a short, 1 min, time dura-
tion. van Gils et al. (2007) measured permanent deforma-
tion in the springs of the 3–5 μm thick top Al electrode
switch at 75 and 100 °C for 15 h. Yan et al. (2009) showed
25 % change in the time dependent modulus of elastic-
ity for 1.2 um electroplated Au MEMS switch over 72 h
under constant strain at room temperature. Hsu et al.
(2011) demonstrated the time dependent change in the
capacitance of an electroplated Ni based RF-MEMS var-
actor at room temperature under bias voltage of 40 V.
Bergers et al. (2011) observed time-dependent deforma-
tions in free-standing aluminum-alloy cantilever beam of
4.8  μm thickness. Jain et al. (2012) presented a physics-
based theoretical modeling framework to predict the time
dependent capacitance change of a varactor due to the vis-
coelastict behavior. Recently, Scott et al. (2013) presented
the reliability experimental studies on bimorphs for tem-
perature sensors including creep effects.
The main objectives of this work are: (a) to investigate
the creep mechanism in metal thin film based RF-MEMS
devices operating under constant actuation and temperature
conditions for a long time (b) to present the applicability
and verification of the creep theory at the macromechan-
ics in the microscale (c) to decouple the permanent creep
strains due to plastic deformation and recoverable anelastic
strains due to viscoelastic behavior and finally (d) to study
the effect of the creep mechanism on the mechanical stiff-
ness of the microstructures and hence on the static and the
dynamic response of the RF-MEMS devices.
2 Specimen design and microfabrication
2.1 Fabrication technology
The specimens used for the experimental investigation of
the creep phenomenon in gold thin films are fabricated
through the gold electrodeposition process, referred as RF
Switch Surface Micromachining (RFS) process, developed
by the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) (Margesin et al.
2003; Kal et al. 2006). The moving structures are built
through two steps electroplating process over a photore-
sist of 3 μm. A seed layer of chromium/gold is deposited,
followed by the first and second electroplated gold layers,
with different thickness. This method allows the selective
superimposition of the two gold layers. The seed layer of
chromium/gold is used to improve the adhesion of the gold
with substrate.
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078 1069

2.2 Specimen geometry and actuation for creep tests
The schematic of the electrostatically actuated microbridge
specimens, used in this study is shown in Fig. 2. The central
plate is constrained at both sides, using four linear clamped
supports, resembling the typical configuration of the micro-
bridge based RF-MEMS switch. This particular shape with
the lateral supports allows an out-of-plane deflection when
a bias voltage is applied between the central plate and the
lower polysilicon electrode. The microbridge deflection
controls the capacitance change in the RF-MEMS varac-
tor and the short circuit induced current flow in the corre-
sponding lines of the RF-MEMS switches. The specimen
dimensions are designed to be reasonably close to some of
the RF-MEMS devices developed by using the same fabri-
cation process. Table 1 shows the actual dimensions of the
nine specimens tested for the creep characterization. The
dimensions are measured optically by the interferometric
profilometer ZoomSurf 3D (Fogale Nanotech). The maxi-
mum lateral and vertical resolution of the optical micro-
scope are ±0.3  μm and ±0.5  × 10−4  μm, respectively.
The thickness values for the central plate and the beam
supports are measured at pull-in when the plate was com-
pletely deflected. The gap between the central plate and
the bottom electrode is measured indirectly by subtract-
ing the central plate thickness and the vertical deflection at
pull-into the height of the central plate at zero bias voltage.
An average value of the gap is calculated by considering
the initial central plate curvature in the center. The dimen-
sions reported in Table 1 have been averaged over all the
specimens used for the experimental investigation. Figure 3
shows the optical image and 3D profile measurement of the
test specimen with the central perforated plate supported by
the elastic beams. The presence of the holes facilitates the

Fig. 2  Schematic of the speci-

men as viewed from above (top)
and from the side (bottom)

Table 1  Measured specimen dimensions with testing actuation voltage and temperature values
Plate Plate Support Support Number Hole Plate Support Air gap Actuation Temperature
length width length (ls) width (ws) of holes size thickness thickness voltage (V) (°C)
(lb) (wb) (tb) (ts)

Specimen 1 150 150 94 12.2 49 10.4 5.99 1.99 3.2 60 60

Specimen 2 131.1 131.5 93.6 12.1 36 7.5 6.3 2.22 3.4 60 60
Specimen 3 132 132 93.4 12 36 7.8 6.3 2.20 3 30 70
Specimen 4 132.1 132 93.4 12 36 7.8 6.32 2.1 3 30 70
Specimen 5 132 132.1 93 12 36 7.9 6.28 2.21 3.1 40 70
Specimen 6 132 132 93.5 12 36 7.8 6.3 2.20 2.9 40 70
Specimen 7 132.1 132.1 93.5 12 36 13 6.3 2.35 3.62 60 60
Specimen 8 132.1 132 93.2 12.2 36 13 6.3 2.32 3.60 60 60
Specimen 9 132 132 93 12.2 36 13 6.3 2.3 3.46 60 60

All dimensions are in μm

13

1070
chemical removal of the sacrificial layer, used to obtain the
suspended parts and achieve a final gap of 3 μm.
2.3 FEM modeling
The equivalent stress distribution in the test specimens
is estimated by developing 3D non-linear FEM mod-
els in ANSYS. The specimens are modeled with actual
dimensions, shown in Table 1. The adopted values for the
Young’s modulus, Poisson ratio and density of the gold are
98.5 GPa, 0.42 and 19.32 × 10−15 kg/μm3 respectively. The
effect of the applied temperature on the stress distribution
and deflection profile of the specimens is simulated with
coupled thermal-structural analysis. Figure 4 shows that
at the applied temperature of 60 °C the maximum stress
is concentrated in the connecting supports and the central
plate is deflected upwards. The static relationship between
Fig.  3  a Optical image of the electroplated gold sample and b 3D profile measurement detected by the interferometric microscope
Fig. 4  Thermal heating at 60 °C only a Von-Mises stress distribution, b specimen vertical deflection
13
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078
the applied voltage and the equivalent stress distribution at
different actuation voltages is obtained using FEM models.
The non-linear electromechanical coupling between the
electrical and the mechanical domains is modeled by using
the 1-D multiphysics transducer elements trans126. These
elements take on the form of a lumped element with volt-
age and structural degree-of-freedoms (DOFs) as cross var-
iables and current and force as through variables. Figure 5
shows the contour plots of the voltage induced equivalent
stress distribution and the corresponding vertical down-
ward displacement of the central plate of the specimen at
the actuation voltage of 60 V. The combined effect of the
thermal heating and actuation voltage on the stress distribu-
tion in the test specimens at the actuation voltage of 60 V
and temperature of 60 °C is shown in Fig. 6. The maximum
stress is 104 MPa and is extremely localized at the connec-
tion of the connecting supports and central plate.
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078 1071

Fig. 5  Electrostatic actuation at 60 V only a Von-Mises stress distribution, b specimen vertical deflection

Fig. 6  Both thermal heating at 60 °C and electrostatic actuation at 60 V. a Von-Mises stress distribution, b specimen vertical deflection

3 Experimental setup specimens is applied by using a voltage generator capable

The tests for the creep evaluation in the specimens are
conducted by using an interferometric microscope Fogale
ZoomSurface 3D with a voltage generator and a Peltier cell
with a temperature sensor, as shown in Fig. 7. The Fogale
optical profiling system is based on non-contact optical
interferometry. The profile of the specimen and its vertical
position is measured by detecting the recorded light inten-
sity after the interference, as a function of the specimen
height, by a CCD camera. The image processing consists of
eliminating the specimen tilting and applying median filter
to remove the artifact peaks. The actuation voltage for the
of generating voltage in the range of 0–200 V, with up to
2 MHz frequency. The connection of the power supply to
the specimens is made through adjustable needles mounted
on the Probe Head PH100 SUSS, which is magnetically
fixed to the workplane of the profiling system.
The thermal heating is provided with the thermoelectric
Peltier cell that is supplied by a dedicated voltage genera-
tor. A PT100 temperature sensor is applied on the Peltier
cell surface to provide the temperature feedback measure-
ment. The precise profile measurement of the specimens
with increasing time, under constant actuation voltage and
temperature, is obtained by placing the Peltier cell with

13

1072
Fig.  7  a Interferometric microscope Fogale ZoomSurface 3D. b Peltier cell with temperature sensor for heating the specimens
temperature sensor on the movable stage of the profilom-
eter. The specimens are tested in the temperature range of
40–70 °C, according to some of the operating conditions of
the RF-MEMS devices mentioned in the literature (Rebeiz
2003).
4 Results and discussion
4.1 Actuation voltage of 60 V and applied temperature
of 60 °C
Initially, the progressive creep strain is measured for the
first two specimens with different geometric dimension
under same test conditions i.e. at the actuation voltage of
60 V and applied temperature of 60 °C. The creep strain
accumulation is measured by monitoring the central plate
deflection at the fixed intervals of time. Figure 8 shows the
creep strain curve for the two tested specimens. The speci-
men 1 showed an increasing strain for the first 3 h, followed
by steady strain for the next 5 h. The displacement in the
specimen 2 increased linearly for the 7 h without entering
the steady state region and eventually snapped down after
7 h (snap down is indicated by the cross mark). The plate
displacement behavior over time is quite different for the
two specimens. The plausible reason for this difference is
the cumulative heating of the specimen 2: both specimens
are on the same die and specimen 1 has been tested first.
The creep strain accumulation in the specimen 1 after 8 h
of testing is 0.3 μm.
4.2 Actuation voltage of 30–40 V and applied temperature
of 70 °C
Four specimens are tested at the same applied tempera-
ture and low actuation voltages of 30 and 40 V. The results
13
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078
show the creep strain accumulation, in the form of cen-
tral plate displacement, for the two specimens tested at
30 and 70 °C. The specimens showed a sharp decreasing
strain rate for the first 4 h followed by a relatively steady
strain rate for the next 4 h. The central plate deflection
after 8 h of creep tests for both the specimens is 0.16 and
0.18 um for the specimen 3 and specimen 4 respectively
(Fig. 9). In the case of the two specimens tested at actua-
tion voltage of 40 V and 70 °C the central plate deflection
is higher as compared to the specimens tested at 30 V and
70 °C as shown in Fig. 10. The plate deflection after 8 h
of test is 0.19 μm and 0.21 μm for the specimen 5 and 6
respectively.
The creep strain curves for the first six specimens
showed in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are consistent with the expected
trend of accumulated creep strain accumulation curve
shown in Fig. 1. For the first 3–4 h the specimens showed
a behavior similar to the primary creep with a decrease in
strain rate with increasing strain. For the next 4 h the creep
curves approximate a constant trend resulting in a behav-
ior consistent with secondary creep. The snap down of the
specimen 2 in Fig. 8, as a result of excessive creep strain
exceeding the instability threshold, represents a behavior
similar to the tertiary creep.
4.3 Repeatability tests and decoupling of anelastic
and permanent creep
The creep strain curves are generally the combination of
the time dependent permanent strains (creep effect) and
fully recoverable strains (anelastic creep effect). The accu-
rate characterization and decoupling of the permanent and
anelastic creep strains is very important for the long term
reliability of MEMS devices. To decouple these mecha-
nisms and avoid the sequential heating and size effect on
the creep strain accumulation, three specimens with the
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078 1073

Fig. 8  Measured displacement
of the central plate of specimen
1 and specimen 2 with time, at
60 V and 60 °C

Fig. 9  Measured displacement
of the central plate of specimen
3 and specimen 4 with time, at
30 V and 70 °C

Fig. 10  Measured displacement
of the central plate of specimen
5 and specimen 6 with time, at
40 V and 70 °C

13

1074
Fig. 11  Measured central plate
displacement for specimen 7, 8
and 9 tested at 60 V and 60 °C.
A permanent measured central
plate deflection after 3 days of
relaxation
Fig. 12  Longitudinal optical
profile of the specimen 9 before
and after the creep test
same geometric dimensions and test conditions but on the
separate dies are tested. Before the creep tests the pull-
in voltage and the natural frequency values are measured
experimentally for each specimen. The biasing of the test
structures for the resonance frequency and pull-in volt-
age extraction is obtained by applying a voltage difference
between the upper suspended plate and the ground fixed
plate. The ground plate fully covers the area under the cen-
tral plate. The specimens are tested at the actuation voltage
of 60 V and constant temperature of 60 °C for 25 h.
Figure  11 shows the creep strain curves for the three
specimens. The specimens show a decreasing strain rate
with increasing plate deflection for the first 2 h followed
by a constant strain rate. The maximum central plate
13
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078
deflection after 8 h is 0.28 μm for the specimen 7, 0.26 μm
for the specimen 8 and 0.3 μm for the specimen 9. These
deflection values are comparable to the plate deflection
after 8 h for the specimen 1 tested at actuation voltage of
60 V and temperature of 60 °C shown in Fig. 8. After 25 h
the specimen 7 snapped down while for the specimen 8 and
9 a central plate deflection of 0.48 and 0.56 μm is meas-
ured respectively. The specimens are then allowed to relax
for three days by removing the applied actuation voltage
and temperature. A permanent central plate deflection of
0.14, 0.15 and 0.12 μm is measured for the specimen 7, 8
and 9 respectively. Figure 12 shows the longitudinal optical
profiles, including both the anchor and central plate, of the
specimen 9 before and after the creep test.
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078 1075

Table 2  Measured natural frequency values for the specimens before The mechanical natural frequency is directly propor-
and after the creep test tional to the effective spring constant. The spring constant k
Before creep test After creep test ffinal for the microspecimens tested in this study is given by:
finitial
natural frequency natural frequency  3
kHz (finitial ) kHz (ffinal ) t
k = 4Ew
l (1)
Specimen 7 33.4 32.4 0.97
Specimen 8 33.6 32.3 0.96 where E is the Young’s modulus, t is the support thickness,
Specimen 9 32.9 30.5 0.93 w is the support width and l is the support length. Assum-
ing that all the other parameters remain unchanged, the
decrease in the natural frequency values for the specimens
can be attributed to the permanent decrease in the mechani-
Table 3  Measured pull-in voltage values for the specimens before cal stiffness due to the developed creep strains. This shows
and after the creep test
that the creep phenomenon results in the permanent change
Before creep test After creep test VPI final in the Young’s modulus values. For the verification of this
VPI initial
pull-in voltage (V) pull-in voltage (V) phenomenon 3D FEM models are developed in ANSYS and
(VPI initial ) (VPI final )
the corresponding natural frequency values are obtained for
Specimen 7 97 89 0.92 the three specimens with the measured dimensions reported
Specimen 8 98 88 0.90 in Table 1. Initially the natural frequency values measured
Specimen 9 90 79 0.88 before the creep the test are compared with the FEM model
frequency values. The standard value of the Young’s mod-
ulus i.e. 98.5 GPa is assumed in the simulations. Table 4
The measured profile of the specimens after three days of shows the comparison of the natural frequency values
relaxation shows that almost one-fourth of the creep strains obtained experimentally with the FEM simulation values
are plastic and permanent strains while the remaining meas- before the creep test. The consistency of the experimental
ured strains are fully recoverable and can be attributed to and FEM model natural frequency allows the parametric
the anelasticity. It shows that at low stress and temperatures identification and verification of the permanent change in
dominant mechanism for the strains accumulation is anelas- the mechanical stiffness of thethree specimens due to the
creep effect. The ffinal finitial ratios for the three speci-

ticity. This anelastic stress relaxation effect is reported by
Yan et al. (2009) for the gold films of 1.2 μm thickness, and mens (shown in the Table 2) and the fact that the mechani-
cal natural frequency ω = k m, depicts a decrease of 6,

a 20 % reduction in the Young’s modulus is observed at con-
stant strain rate. This time dependent change in the modulus 8 and 14 % in the Young’s modulus for the specimen 7, 8
leads to a time dependent change in the effective spring con- and 9 respectively. Table 4 shows the natural frequency val-
stant and eventually results in the change of both the static ues for the three specimens obtained using the FEM models
and dynamic response of the device. with the respective decrease in the elastic modulus depicted
by the experimental measurements.  The closeness of the
4.4 Effect of the creep on dynamic and static response FEM model and experimental ffinal finitial ratios confirms
 

the permanent decrease in the mechanical stiffness due to

To study the effect of the plastic creep strain accumulation
of with time on the dynamic and static response of the test
specimens the natural frequency and pull-in voltage val-
ues measured before and after the creep test are compared.
Tables  2 and 3 show the comparison of the natural fre-
quency and pull-in voltage values for the specimen 7, 8 and
9 measured before and after the creep tests. The difference
between the initial frequency before creep test and final fre-
quency after creep tests and three days of relaxation is 3,
4 and 7 % for the specimen 7, 8 and 9 respectively. The
difference between the static pull-in voltage values for the
three specimens, before and after the creep test, is higher as
compared to the natural frequency as shown in Table 3. The
measured difference is 8, 10 and 12 % for the specimen 7,
8 and 9 respectively.
the variation in the elastic modulus values.
The permanent decrease in the mechanical stiffness due
to the creep strains is verified by comparing the measured
pull-in voltage values before and after the creep tests. The
pull-in voltage for the tested specimens is given as;

3
8 kdave
VPI = (2)
27 εo A
where dave is the average gap height between the central
plate and the bottom electrode, A is the electrode area and
εo is the vacuum dielectric permittivity. The pull-in voltage
value depends on both the mechanical stiffness and elec-
trostatic gap height. After the creep tests the central plate
is observed to be deflected downwards as discussed earlier.

13

1076 Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078

Table 4  Comparison of the experimental and FEM model natural frequency values before and after the creep test

Before creep test natural frequency kHz (finitial ) After creep test natural frequency kHz (ffinal ) ffinal
finitial

Experimental 3D FEM with nominal stiffness Experimental 3D FEM with decreased stiffness Experimental 3D FEM

Specimen 7 33.4 33 32.4 32.1 0.97 0.97

Specimen 8 33.6 33.1 32.3 31.7 0.96 0.96
Specimen 9 32.9 32.6 30.5 30.3 0.93 0.93

Table 5  Comparison of the experimental and FEM model pull-in voltage values before and after the creep test, considering only plate deflection
Before creep test pull-in voltage (V) After creep test pull-in voltage (V) VPI final
VPI initial
(VPI initial ) (VPI final )
Experimental 3D FEM with Experimental 3D FEM with Experimental 3D FEM with
nominal stiffness measured deflection measured deflection

Specimen 7 97 96 89 91.2 0.92 0.95

Specimen 8 98 96.2 88 91 0.90 0.94
Specimen 9 90 89.4 79 81.8 0.88 0.91

Table 6  Comparison of the experimental and FEM model pull-in voltage values before and after the creep test, considering both the plate
deflection and modulus reduction
Before creep test pull-in voltage (V) After creep test pull-in voltage (V) VPI final
VPI initial
(VPI initial ) (VPI final )
Experimental 3D FEM with Experimental 3D FEM with Experimental 3D FEM with
nominal stiffness measured deflection measured deflection and
and decreased stiffness decreased stiffness

Specimen 7 97 96 89 88 0.92 0.916

Specimen 8 98 96.2 88 88 0.90 0.914
Specimen 9 90 89.4 79 78.4 0.88 0.876

The measured permanent central plate deflection of the
specimen 7, 8 and 9 is 0.14, 0.15 and 0.12 μm respectively.
Initially the static pull-in voltage for the three specimens
is obtained using the 3D FEM models with the measured
dimensions and nominal value of the Young’s modulus.
Table 5 shows the comparison of the experimentally meas-
ured pull-in voltage values and obtained using the FEM
models before the creep test. Assuming that the mechanical
stiffness after the creep test is same as before the test and
the measured decrease in the pull-in voltage is only due to
the downward deflection of the central plate, the ratio of the
final pull-in voltage after the creep test
 and initial pull-in
voltage before the creep test (VPI final VPI initial ) obtained
The FEM model results show that the central plate
deflection only, does not explain the measured difference
between the pull-in voltage values before and after the
creep tests. Next, 3D FEM models are developed and the
effect of the reduction in the modulus values as predicted by
the natural frequency comparison is included in the simula-
tion along with the measured deflection. Table 6shows the
comparison of the pull-in voltage ratio (VPI final VPI initial )
measured experimentally and by considering the effect of
both the permanent deflection and reduction in the Young’s
modulus.
 The  good correspondence of the experimental
ffinal finitial and (VPI final VPI initial ) ratio with that

using the FEM simulations is 0.95, 0.94 and 0.91 for the
specimen 7, 8 and 9 respectively. This shows that the meas-
ured downward deflection of the central plate, due to the
creep phenomenon, accounts only 5, 6 and 9 % decrease
in the pull-in voltage after the creep test for the three
specimens.
obtained using FEM models, considering both the plate
deflection and stiffness variation, confirms that the creep
phenomenon in RF microstructures can result in the perma-
nent shift in the static and dynamic response of the device.
The creep induced plastic strains result in the permanent
variation in the device profile and stiffness.

13
Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078 1077
5 Conclusion
A progressive accumulation of creep strains with time is
observed for the multiple electrostatically actuated gold
microspecimens at fixed actuation voltage and tempera-
ture values. The experimental creep strain curves for all
the tested specimens follow the typical creep strain curve
for the metals with the decreasing strain rate for the first
2–3 h (primary stage) followed by steady state rate for next
few hours (secondary stage) and in two specimens a sudden
snap down (tertiary stage) as a result of the excessive creep
strain exceeding the instability threshold.
Three specimens with the same geometric dimensions
are tested for 25 h at the same actuation voltage of 60 V
and constant temperature of 60 °C. The central plate deflec-
tion in the range of 0.48–0.56 μm is measured after 25 h.
The specimens are then allowed to relax for three days and
a permanent deformation of the central plate in the range
of 0.12–0.15 μm for the three specimens is measured.
This suggests that almost one-fourth of the creep strains
are permanent (creep effect) and the remaining anelas-
tic strains are fully recovered and can be attributed to the
viscoelasticy.
The variation in the natural frequency values measured
before and after the creep tests is explained with the perma-
nent reduction in the mechanical stiffness. This decrease in
the mechanical stiffness is also verified by comparing the
pull-in voltage values of the three specimens before and
after the creep tests. The decrease in the mechanical stiff-
ness as depicted by the natural frequency comparison and
the permanent central plate downward deflection justifies
the decrease in the pull-in voltage measured experimen-
tally after the creep test. These results depict that the time
dependent variation in the static and dynamic response of
the RF-MEMS devices due to the mechanical creep effect
must be considered at the design, optimization and fabrica-
tion level to achieve long term reliability.
References
Allameh SM (2003) An introduction to mechanical-properties-related
issues in MEMS structures. J Mate Sci 38(20):4115–4123
Bergers LIJC, Hoefnagels JPM, Delhey NKR, Geers MGD (2011)
Measuring time-dependent deformations in metallic MEMS.
Microelectron Reliab 51(6):1054–1059
Brusa E, De Pasquale G, Somà A (2013) Experimental characteriza-
tion of electro–thermo–mechanical coupling in gold RF micros-
witches. J Microelectromechanical Syst 22(4):919–929
Cho HS, Hemker KJ, Lian K, Goettert J (2002) Tensile, creep and
fatigue properties of LIGA nickel structures. In: Micro electro
mechanical systems, pp 439–442
De Pasquale G, Somà A (2009) Numerical and experimental validation
of out-of-plane resonance closed formulas for MEMS suspended
plates with square holes. Microsyst Technol 15(3):391–400
De Pasquale G, Somà A (2010) Dynamic identification of electrostati-
cally actuated MEMS in the frequency domain. Mech Syst Signal
Process 24(6):1621–1633
De Pasquale G, Somà A (2011) MEMS mechanical fatigue: effect of
mean stress on gold microbeams. J Microelectromechanical Syst
20(4):1054–1063
Douglass MR (1998) Lifetime estimates and unique failure mecha-
nisms of the digital micromirror device (DMD). In: Reliability
physics symposium proceedings, pp 9–16
Hsu HH, Koslowski M, Peroulis D (2011) An experimental and
theoretical investigation of creep in ultrafine crystalline
nickel RF-MEMS devices. IEEE Trans Microw Theory Tech
59(10):2655–2664
Huang Y, Vasan ASS, Doraiswami R, Osterman M, Pecht M (2012)
MEMS reliability review. IEEE Trans Device Mater Reliab
12(2):482–493
Jain A, Palit S, Alam MA (2012) A physics-based predictive mode-
ling framework for dielectric charging and creep in RF MEMS
capacitive switches and varactors. J Microelectromechanical Syst
21(2):420–430
Kal S, Bagolini A, Margesin B, Zen M (2006) Stress and resistivity
analysis of electrodeposited gold films for MEMS application.
Microelectron J 37(11):1329–1334
Langfelder G, Longoni A, Zaraga F, Corigliano A, Ghisi A, Merassi A
(2009) A new on-chip test structure for real time fatigue analysis
in polysilicon MEMS. Microelectron Reliab 49(2):120–126
Li G, Zhang W, Li P, Sang S, Hu J, Chen X (2013) Investigation of
charge injection and relaxation in multilayer dielectric stacks for
capacitive RF MEMS switch application. IEEE Trans Electron
Devices 60(7):2379–2387
Margesin B, Bagolini A, Guarnieri V, Giacomozzi F, Faes A, Pal
R, Decarli M (2003). Stress characterization of electroplated
gold layers for low temperature surface micromachining. In:
Design, test, integration and packaging of MEMS/MOEMS,
pp 402–405
Modlinski R, Witvrouw A, Ratchev P, Puers R, den Toonder JMJ, De
Wolf I (2004) Creep characterization of Al alloy thin films for use
in MEMS applications. Microelectron Eng 76(1):272–278
Modlinski R, Ratchev P, Witvrouw A, Puers R, De Wolf I (2005)
Creep-resistant aluminum alloys for use in MEMS. J Microme-
chanics Microengineering 15(7):S165
Rebeiz GM (2003) RF MEMS: theory, design and technology. Wiley,
Hoboken
Scott S, Katz J, Sadeghi F, Peroulis D (2013) Highly reliable
MEMS temperature sensors for 275 °C applications—part 2:
creep and cycling performance. J Microelectromechanical Syst
22(1):236–243
Somà A, De Pasquale G (2009) MEMS mechanical fatigue: experi-
mental results on gold microbeams. J Microelectromechanical
Syst 18(4):828–835
Subhash G, Corwin AD, de Boer MP (2011) Evolution of wear char-
acteristics and frictional behavior in MEMS devices. Tribol Lett
41(1):177–189
Tuck K, Jungen A, Geisberger A, Ellis M, Skidmore G (2005) A study
of creep in polysilicon MEMS devices. J Eng Mater Technol
127(1):90–96
van Gils M, Bielen J, McDonald G (2007). Evaluation of creep in
RF MEMS devices. In: Thermal, mechanical and multi-physics
simulation experiments in microelectronics and micro-systems,
pp 1–6
Vickers-Kirby DJ, Kubena RL, Stratton FP, Joyce RJ, Chang DT, Kim
J (2000) Anelastic creep phenomena in thin metal plated cantile-
vers for MEMS. In: MRS proceedings, vol 657. pp EE2-5
Wetzig K (2003) Metal based thin films for electronics. Wiley-VCH,
Weinheim
13

1078 Microsyst Technol (2016) 22:1067–1078

Yan X, Brown WL, Li Y, Papapolymerou J, Palego C, Hwang J, Vinci Younis MI, Jordy D, Pitarresi JM (2007) Computationally efficient
RP (2009) Anelastic stress relaxation in gold films and its impact approaches to characterize the dynamic response of microstruc-
on restoring forces in MEMS devices. J Microelectromechanical tures under mechanical shock. J Microelectromechanical Syst
Syst 18(3):570–576 16(3):628–638

13