Image quality comparison of two different experimental setups for MEMS actuators functional evaluation: a preliminary study

Abstract

The high interest of scientists and industries in the application of MEMS micro-actuators to several fields requires effective and robust measurement methods and systems for their quality assessment, focusing on their functional characterization, usually carried out through image analysis-based methods. In this study, a comparison of two experimental setups for image acquisition is proposed, aiming at establishing which setup collects images with higher quality for MEMS microgripper functional evaluation. The proposed work describes an experimental approach based on the evaluation of five parameters, i.e., brightness, saturation, contrast, sharpness, and signalto-noise ratio, applied to 24 regions of interest in two sets of images of a same micro-actuator acquired from different optical setups at three magnification levels. Measurement results have been assessed following an objective approach by processing the acquired data through an in-house algorithm and a subjective approach by showing the acquired images to six observers and collecting their preferences.