A small 3-D probe system was developed based on sensing the bending of elastic hinges carrying the probe stylus. The stylus platform and elastic hinges are etched in silicon. On the elastic hinges, piezoresistive straingages are integrated, including the necessary wiring. The 3-D measurement range is about one hundred micrometres in each direction and the repeatability is at the nanometre level. Several prototypes of these MEMS-type probe were realised in IC-technology successfully. Calibrations with a displacement generator based on laser interferometry reveal typical repeatabilities in the nanometre level and a 3-D uncertainty of the order of 25 nm.
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