Microprobe with 3D Orthogonal Kinematics for Dimensional Measurement of Industrial Microparts

A fully-functional silicon-based microprobe consisting of three identical measuring cells mounted orthogonally has been developed. The microfabricated measuring cells act as miniaturized load cells, each offering a large measuring range and low stiffness in only one direction thanks to a silicon parallelogram structure. The microassembly of three parallelogram structures using interposers results in an isotropic 3D kinematic microprobe. Piezoresistive sensing provides sub-micrometer accuracy. Highly reproducible and reliable manufacturing processes such as anodic bonding were recently introduced to build the measuring cell. In addition to the standard mechanical and electrical characterization of the microprobe, a dynamic characterization was performed. It was demonstrated that the new microprobe can be used in a commercial coordinate measuring machine (CMM) thereby extending its applicability for dimensional measurement of microcomponents.