Carbon Nanotube Based Dielectric for Enhanced RF MEMS Reliability

Bordas, C.; Grenier, Katia; Dubuc, David; Flahaut, Emmanuel; Pacchini, Sébastien; Paillard, M.; Cazaux, Jean-Louis

doi:10.1109/mwsym.2007.380449

Cited by 20 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in silicon nitride to form a nanostructured dielectric material with less charging memory was presented in [19]. The resulting material exhibits improved "Figure of Merit" which arises from higher dielectric conductivity when gradually approaching the percolation threshold due to the increased CNT density.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dielectric Engineering of Nanostructured Layers to Control the Transport of Injected Charges in Thin Dielectrics

Makasheva

Villeneuve-Faure

Bonafos

et al. 2016

IEEE Trans. Nanotechnology

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1 -New concept concerning dielectric engineering is presented in this work aiming at a net improvement of the performance of dielectric layers in RF MEMS capacitive switches with electrostatic actuation and an increase of their reliability. Instead of synthesis of new dielectric materials we have developed a new class of dielectric layers that gain their performance from design rather than from composition. Two kinds of nanostructured dielectrics are presented. They consist of: (i) silicon oxynitride layers (SiO x N y :H) with gradual variation of their properties (discrete or continuous), and (ii) organosilicon (SiO x C y :H) and/or silica (SiO 2 ) layers with tailored interfaces; a single layer of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is embedded in the vicinity of the dielectric free surface. The nanostructured dielectric layers were deposited in a plasma process. They were structurally characterized and tested under electrical stress and environmental conditions typical for RF MEMS operation. The charge injection and decay dynamics were probed by Kelvin Force Microscopy (KFM). Modulation of the conductive properties of the nanostructured layers over 7 orders of magnitude is achieved. Compared to dielectric mono-layers, the nanostructured ones exhibit much shorter charge retention times. They appear to be promising candidates for implementation in RF MEMS capacitive switches with electrostatic actuation, and more generally for applications where surface charging must be avoided.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dielectric Engineering of Nanostructured Layers to Control the Transport of Injected Charges in Thin Dielectrics

Makasheva

Villeneuve-Faure

Bonafos

et al. 2016

IEEE Trans. Nanotechnology

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“…(Ehmke et al ., 2002). It may also be performed through the incorporation of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in the dielectric layer (Bordas et al ., 2007). Figure 3.16 presents the technological process used to easily integrate the CNT into the SiN layer in two steps.…”

Section: Dielectric Considerations In Capacitive Switchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

RF MEMS fabrication technologies

Grenier

Dubuc

2013

Handbook of Mems for Wireless and Mobile Applications

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“…Standoffs of either dielectric [15] or metal [16] have been designed to reduce or eliminate the dielectric contact area. Contact area can also be reduced by increasing the surface roughness with the incorporation of carbon nanoparticles in silicon nitride [17], for example. In most cases, dielectric charging was reduced but other performance characteristics such as contact force or on/off capacitance ratio were compromised.…”

Section: Reduced Dielectric Contact Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Reliability of Electrostatically Actuated RF MEMS Switches

Hwang

2007

2007 IEEE International Workshop on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology

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-The reliability of electrostatically actuated RF MEMS switches is reviewed with emphasis on recent advancements. Both ohmic and capacitive switches have been operated for more 100-billion cycles without failure. When they do fail, ohmic switches tend to fail catastrophically by stiction, whereas capacitive switches often degrade gradually through charging of their dielectric insulators. Approaches to mitigate and model dielectric charging are then presented.

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Carbon Nanotube Based Dielectric for Enhanced RF MEMS Reliability

Cited by 20 publications

References 12 publications

Dielectric Engineering of Nanostructured Layers to Control the Transport of Injected Charges in Thin Dielectrics

Dielectric Engineering of Nanostructured Layers to Control the Transport of Injected Charges in Thin Dielectrics

RF MEMS fabrication technologies

Reliability of Electrostatically Actuated RF MEMS Switches

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