In order to measure the mechanical properties of micron-scale thin films

an integrated uniaxial tensile test system with lower cost is developed for measuring mechanical properties of MEMS materials. Firstly

test chips are optimized by Finite Element Method (FEM) to be gripped tightly and aligned in the pulling direction accurately. Furthermore

test chips with thin Ni films are fabricated on a glass substrate with UV-LIGA technology

which significantly reduces fabricating time and steps and eliminates the effect of wet anisotropic etching process on mechanical properties. Then

according to tensile test processes and facilities in the tensile system

a data acquiring and analysis system is designed by Visual Basic. Finally

the integrated tensile system is used to measure the mechanical properties of the Ni thin film. Experimental results show that the system precision is 0.01 μm for strain measurment

and mN level for stress measurement. Obtained Young’s modulus and the ultimate tensile strength of the Ni thin film are about 94.5 GPa and 1.76 GPa

respectively. The integrated system with higher precision and lower cost can be used to study mechanical properties of electroplated metal materials.