Claims
- 1. An electrostatic testing apparatus, comprising:a) a compliant testing membrane comprising a stress concentrating structure; b) a rigid mounting system for said compliant testing membrane such that said membrane is supported on a principal plane in the absence of external forces, and, c) an electrostatic loading apparatus comprising a voltage source, such that said apparatus applies forces normal to said principal plane of the compliant testing membrane, wherein the rigid mounting system further comprises: a) a substrate with an upper surface; b) rigid supports mounted on said upper surface and supporting said compliant testing membrane, and wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises an electrical actuator pad on the substrate.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said compliant testing membrane has essentially constant thickness.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said compliant testing membrane consists essentially of a single thin film.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, such that the principal plane is parallel to said upper surface.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises an electrically conducting upper surface of the substrate.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises an electrically conducting compliant testing membrane.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises an electrically conducting upper surface of the substrate, an electrically conducting compliant testing membrane, and electrically insulating rigid supports.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electrical actuator electrode does not overlap the stress concentrating structure.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises an electrical actuator pad on the upper surface of the substrate and an electrical actuator electrode on the compliant testing membrane.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9, such that said electrical actuator pad does not extend under the stress concentrating structure.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises an electrical actuator pad on the upper surface of the substrate and an electrical actuator electrode on the compliant testing membrane.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises a plurality of electrical actuator pads on the upper surface of the substrate.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises a plurality of electrical actuator electrodes on the compliant testing membrane.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrostatic loading apparatus further comprises a plurality of electrical actuator electrodes on the compliant testing membrane.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the voltage source allows repetitive activation of the electrostatic loading apparatus.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compliant testing membrane is electrically conductive and the apparatus further comprises a electrical continuity fracture detector.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising optical apparatus to measure displacements of the complaint testing membrane from the principal plane.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a meter to measure capacitance between the substrate and the compliant testing membrane.
GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
This invention was made with Government support under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
US Referenced Citations (11)