Abstract: A novel apparatus and technique or characterizing materials at submicron scale and for characterizing micromechanical devices integrates test specimens with the testing device. The test specimen is a micromechanical structure made of the material to be characterized or may be a device under evaluation. A microloading instrument is a microelectromechanical structure incorporating a stable, planar frame to which is connected a multiplicity of comb-type capacitive actuators. A variable drive voltage applied across the actuator plates selectively moves the frame structure along a longitudinal axis in a controlled fashion. The frame is mounted to a fixed substrate by means of laterally extending spring arms which position the capacitor plates and guide the motion of the frame along the longitudinal axis. The micro loading instrument is calibrated by buckling a long slender beam cofabricated with the instrument.