In this paper, a miniaturized weighing cell that is based on a micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) is discussed. The MEMS-based weighing cell is inspired by macroscopic electromagnetic force compensation (EMFC) weighing cells and one of the crucial system parameters, the stiffness, is analyzed. The system stiffness in the direction of motion is first analytically evaluated using a rigid body approach and then also numerically modeled using the finite element method for comparison purposes. First prototypes of MEMS-based weighing cells were successfully microfabricated and the occurring fabrication-based system characteristics were considered in the overall system evaluation. The stiffness of the MEMS-based weighing cells was experimentally determined by using a static approach based on force-displacement measurements. Considering the geometry parameters of the microfabricated weighing cells, the measured stiffness values fit to the calculated stiffness values with a deviation from −6.7 to 3.8% depending on the microsystem under test. Based on our results, we demonstrate that MEMS-based weighing cells can be successfully fabricated with the proposed process and in principle be used for high-precision force measurements in the future. Nevertheless, improved system designs and read-out strategies are still required.

This paper describes a numerical model for a passive microsystem to detect and save acceleration shocks. For the first time a system is presented, where more than one or two acceleration events can be detected and saved and where the latching position is not influenced by the seismic mass position before the acceleration event. Therefor the latching positon indicates the maximal external acceleration amplitude acted on the microsystem. A numerical model is used for prediction of the dynamic system behavior. Utilizing the model a parameter study was performed to determine optimal parameters for clear correlation between ratcheting position and its acceleration threshold. A mass of the ratcheting parts in the same range as the seismic mass enable a clear result in a range of up to 500 g and five latching positions.