An experimental method is proposed to characterize the hygroscopic swelling of mold compounds. The method utilizes moiré interferometry, which measures in-plane displacements over a relatively large gage length with submicron measurement sensitivity. Deformations caused by the absorption of moisture in mold compounds are analyzed to determine the coefficient of hygroscopic swelling (CHS). The l...

A silicon load cell (force sensor) is presented which is based on a new operating principle. The force is measured by compressing a meander like strain gage. A second strain gage which is not loaded, is used for temperature compensation and for compensation of bending and stretching stresses in the chip. Also, same changes in zero load resistor values are eliminated. It is shown that the output...

A shear force on the skin, perpendicular to the forces applying pressures, is thought to be a contributing factor to the formation of decubitus ulcers . The gage described here has been designed to give some quantitative information about the extent of shear forces that exist between human skin and a support medium. The basic operating principle of the device is the measurement of relative moti...