Vibration tolerance of micro-electrodes

Micro four-point probe measurements can be used for extremely accurate electrical characterization of advanced electronic materials. The measurements are, however, sensitive to environmental vibrations which may compromise measurement quality severely. We have experimentally measured the vibration tolerance of two different micro-electrode designs (straight and three-way flexible) on two different samples (indium-tin-oxide and highly doped silicon). We show that three-way flexible electrodes are significantly more vibration tolerant (at least 50 times) compared to their straight counterparts. We have theoretically analyzed the vibration tolerance of the electrode designs and show excellent agreement between theory and experiment; as a result the theoretical framework may be used to predict vibration tolerance of any micro-electrode.