Holger Pfaff

MEMS have revolutionized sensor applications over the past three decades, ranging from smart environmental monitoring in phones (pressure, acceleration, voice recognition) to life-saving technologies (airbags, health monitoring). The fundamental design comprising delicate complex micron-scale structures, in-depth knowledge of the mechanical properties is crucial for both performance and structural integrity. Assessing these properties comes with challenges though. Nanoindenters, combining significant ranges in applicable force and deflections at most accurate length and force resolution, have proven invaluable for characterizing the mechanics of MEMS at low frequencies. However, since commercial nanoindentation systems are not primarily designed for MEMS testing, modifications are required to optimize transducer sensitivity, automation, and smart adaptation to the test environment. We will present selected FA custom tailored solutions, to accurately determine key mechanical parameters such as deflection stiffness as well as local and global failure stress, including approaches to ensure reliable statistical representation.

Holger Pfaff received his PhD from the University of Stuttgart in 2006. Before starting his position as a failure analysis engineer at Infineon Regensburg in 2015, his role as European nanoindentation application engineer for Surface/Agilent/Keysight, kept him “on the road” constantly, collaborating with researchers in academia and industry, across Europe and beyond. Despite his position at Infineon being more stationary, it never ceased being exciting. Holger remains passionate about pushing the boundaries of existing characterization methods, with a strong focus on nanoindentation, complemented by confocal Raman spectroscopy and more recently EBSD.