Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) suspended inductors have excellent radio frequency (RF) performance and they are compatible with integrated circuit (IC). They will be shocked during manufacturing, transportation, and operation; in some applications, the shock amplitude can be as high as tens of thousands of gravitational acceleration (g, 9.8 m/s2). High-g shock will lead to the inductor deformation which affects its performance or even failure of the inductor structure. However, few studies have been carried out on the inductors under high-g shock. In this study, a kind of MEMS suspended inductor with excellent RF and mechanical performance is designed and fabricated. The failure and performance variation mechanism of the inductor under high-g shock is analyzed by measuring and comparing the performance measurement results and the π model parameters extraction results of the inductors before and after air cannon shock test. The results show that the increase of energy loss caused by substrate parasitic effect and the properties variation of the coil material affected by high-g shock are the main reasons for the decrease of RF performance parameters, and the critical stress exceeding the interlayer adhesion is the main reason for the failure of the inductor.
Keywords: MEMS reliability; high mechanical shock; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) suspended inductor.