Development of a hybrid microsystem for acquisition of sterilization cycles

In this paper we present a hybrid microsystem for acquisition and counting of sterilisation cycles. The device includes a micromechanical counter mechanism and a thermal actuator based on a shape memory alloy (SMA). The device is designed to count 100 sterilization cycles. The basic functionality is investigated on a hotplate using a thermal temperature profile with a peak temperature of 135°C. In this manner, counting of thermal cycles is demonstrated.