A passive, in situ micro strain gauge

A passive micro strain gauge based on the strain magnification technique has been designed, demonstrated, and characterized. This strain gauge can be fabricated in situ along with active micro sensors or actuators on the same chip for monitoring residual strain effects. Both tensile or compressive strain could be easily observed under optical microscopes and the resolution of strains as small as 0.001% could be achieved. The residual strain study of RTA (rapid thermal annealing) polysilicon is reported.<
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