Abstract
A MEMS device for the measurement of profile on high aspect-ratio microstructures has been developed. The goal was to develop a method to be used when the known methods were inappropriate. The main part of the tool is a silicon micro-probe with a sharp tip at its end and an integrated piezoresistive strain gauge sensor. The probes are from 500μm to 1mm long with a cross section area of 20×20(μm)^2; they were mainly designed for the characterization of narrow and deep "EDM" micromachined micro-holes having a radius as small as 50μm and a depth up to 800μm. The profile measurement method has been extended to the characterization of several other microstructures. The measurement accuracy is around ±30nm.
