LENGTH AND WIDTH EFFECTS OF METAL FILMS ON STRESS-INDUCED BENDING OF SURFACE MICROMACHINED CANTILEVER CURVED GRATING

In this study, the length and width effects of metal films on the stress-induced bending of a surface micromachined cantilever curved grating are systematically investigated. A characterization of cantilever curved gratings with various lengths and widths was conducted to observe out-of-plane deformation. A finite element model was established to analyze the deformation. Finite element analysis and experimental results indicate that the commonly used beam theory formula for predicting the deformation of surface micromachined cantilever curved gratings is not valid for these devices. Experiments show that the shape of a cantilever curved grating and residual stress have a close relationship. As the length increases, the residual stress of the metal increases, resulting in a larger out-of-plane deformation of the cantilever curved grating. The tip deflection gradually decreases as the length-to-width ratio of the cantilever curved grating increases. A more reliable shape design of metal films on the stress-induced bending of surface micromachined cantilever curved gratings can thus be achieved.