Novel micro torque measurement method for microdevices

A general purpose measurement system has been developed which can measure v ery low torques of the order of 10(-7) N m. The new method proposed here us es wind pressure to apply a load to a turbine attached to the output shaft of a device. It can therefore be used for all rotating microdevices. The us e of wind pressure reduces the loss during measurements, and makes it possi ble to measure low levels of torque easily by simply attaching the turbine to the device. In the present study, the measurement principle of the new s ystem has been verified. The static friction torque was measured by the tra ditional method of using a thread wound around the motor shaft in order to examine the validity of the proposed method, and a comparison of the two me thods with the measured data is presented. In addition, a prototype micromo tor, 1.6 mm in diameter, has been fabricated and used to demonstrate that t he new system is able to measure torques of the order of 10-7 N rn while th e motor is in operation.