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Damage and failure in silicon-glass-metal microfluidic joints for high-pressure MEMS devices

Damage and failure in silicon-glass-metal microfluidic joints for high-pressure MEMS devices
Damage and failure in silicon-glass-metal microfluidic joints for high-pressure MEMS devices
The design, fabrication, and testing of microlluidic joints consisting of Kovar metal tubes attached to silicon using borosilicate glass for high pressure microelectromechanical systems devices are presented. The MIT microrocket, which requires rnicrofluidic joints to sustain pressures of at least 12.7 MPa and temperatures in excess of 700 K, is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the,glass sealing methodology. A key concern in such joints is the occurrence of cracks due to residual stresses during fabrication, which can affect the load-carrying. capability. To obtain a better understanding of the damage and failure characteristics, a hierarchical approach was taken. First, two types of joint configurations with several glass compositions and geometries were considered at the joint-level. Axial tension and pressure tests were performed, and finite element models were used to obtain the residual stress field and to predict failure loads based on linear elastic fracture mechanics. Subsequently, tests were performed on actual and dummy microrockets to validate the methodology at the device-level. Key observations include the importance of bonding between the Kovar tube and the silicon sidewall, which can help increase joint strength, and the detrimental effects of joint proximity under differential pressure loading and manufacturing defects in multiple joint specimens. In addition to specific experimental and analyses results that allow a physical understanding of the damage and failure mechanisms, another key contribution of this work is the overall insight of the design and analysis of reliable gIass-sealed microfluidic packages. This insight will help one make better design and process selections for packages in other high-pressure silicon-based MEMS applications.
design, microfluidics, packaging, reliability, testing
1057-7157
246-258
Shim, Dong Jin
69523fbc-f483-4589-b130-82b3451bef9b
Sun, Hong-Wei
63b92930-4e1d-487f-89bf-0a42a46aba18
Vengallatore, S.T.
28311e58-d2d3-409a-af35-7ddbc130d1d6
Spearing, S.M.
9e56a7b3-e0e8-47b1-a6b4-db676ed3c17a
Shim, Dong Jin
69523fbc-f483-4589-b130-82b3451bef9b
Sun, Hong-Wei
63b92930-4e1d-487f-89bf-0a42a46aba18
Vengallatore, S.T.
28311e58-d2d3-409a-af35-7ddbc130d1d6
Spearing, S.M.
9e56a7b3-e0e8-47b1-a6b4-db676ed3c17a

Shim, Dong Jin, Sun, Hong-Wei, Vengallatore, S.T. and Spearing, S.M. (2006) Damage and failure in silicon-glass-metal microfluidic joints for high-pressure MEMS devices. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 15 (1), 246-258. (doi:10.1109/JMEMS.2005.859205).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The design, fabrication, and testing of microlluidic joints consisting of Kovar metal tubes attached to silicon using borosilicate glass for high pressure microelectromechanical systems devices are presented. The MIT microrocket, which requires rnicrofluidic joints to sustain pressures of at least 12.7 MPa and temperatures in excess of 700 K, is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the,glass sealing methodology. A key concern in such joints is the occurrence of cracks due to residual stresses during fabrication, which can affect the load-carrying. capability. To obtain a better understanding of the damage and failure characteristics, a hierarchical approach was taken. First, two types of joint configurations with several glass compositions and geometries were considered at the joint-level. Axial tension and pressure tests were performed, and finite element models were used to obtain the residual stress field and to predict failure loads based on linear elastic fracture mechanics. Subsequently, tests were performed on actual and dummy microrockets to validate the methodology at the device-level. Key observations include the importance of bonding between the Kovar tube and the silicon sidewall, which can help increase joint strength, and the detrimental effects of joint proximity under differential pressure loading and manufacturing defects in multiple joint specimens. In addition to specific experimental and analyses results that allow a physical understanding of the damage and failure mechanisms, another key contribution of this work is the overall insight of the design and analysis of reliable gIass-sealed microfluidic packages. This insight will help one make better design and process selections for packages in other high-pressure silicon-based MEMS applications.

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More information

Published date: 2006
Keywords: design, microfluidics, packaging, reliability, testing
Organisations: Engineering Mats & Surface Engineerg Gp

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 42956
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/42956
ISSN: 1057-7157
PURE UUID: 937a71a5-0bf5-4d4a-9a7f-d5f8e5536ee4
ORCID for S.M. Spearing: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3059-2014

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Jan 2007
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:37

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Contributors

Author: Dong Jin Shim
Author: Hong-Wei Sun
Author: S.T. Vengallatore
Author: S.M. Spearing ORCID iD

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