SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

SwRI Vacuum Microprobe Facility

| Space Science Department | Space Science and Engineering Division |

MEMS Vacuum Microprobe Research Program Summary

Because of the unique challenges of launch and operation in space, devices that are highly reliable, small in mass and size, and that require low power are needed. Microelectro mechanical systems (MEMS) are microscopic devices built using the same micro-fabrication technologies used to produce semiconductor devices. This technology allows for building machines with moving parts that are smaller than the width of a human hair. These small machines have many properties that make them well suited for space instrumentation. MEMS are naturally small, lightweight and surprisingly strong, and they require little power. The silicon that MEMS are built out of have properties that exceed those of steel. The SwRI vacuum microprobe facility was designed and built to optimize the development of MEMS devices for space applications.

Most study and development to date with MEMS devices have been for terrestrial applications. Our laboratory focuses on how these devices differ in operation when in a space environment rather than a terrestrial one. All of the same forces are present at the MEMS scale, but their relative importance vary. For example, a small insect can use surface tension to walk across a pond while a larger animal would sink. We study how the MEMS devices operate in a space environment to determine what new challenges need to be overcome and what unexpected benefits are available to be capitalized.

Vacuum Microprobe Laboratory Equipment

Our laboratory has the first fully functional vacuum microprobe station. The probe station includes an ion-pumped, ultraclean vacuum system outfitted with four, three-axis precision microprobe stages. An ion-pump allows pumping to high vacuum levels without any moving parts. Evaluation and analysis efforts are monitored with a long focal length microscope through a thin sapphire window. Specialized electrical waveforms required to drive the MEMS devices are supplied by a set of arbitrary waveform function generators. This facility was recognized with a 2003 Technology Innovation Award from Aviation Week and Space Technology.

For more information about the SwRI Vacuum Microprobe Facility, contact Dave McComas, or Philip Valek at (210) 522-3385.
 

| Space Science Department | Space Science and Engineering Division |

Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

July 15, 2009