Material Characterization

and, O. Paul; Ruther, Patrick

doi:10.1002/9783527616718.ch2

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…The entire setup is automated for the sequential characterization of up to 80 diaphragms on a wafer. Figure 3 (a) shows the center deflection of Si 3 N 4 and Si 3 N 4 /PECVD SiO x membranes, with different widths, measured as a function of P. The lines are fits of (3) to the experimental data, from which a plane-strain modulus E ps of 278 GPa (72 GPa) and prestress value σ 0 of +1194 MPa (−312 MPa) are obtained for LPCVD Si 3 N 4 (PECVD SiO x ), well within the range of reported values for these materials [2][3][4][5]14,17]. As shown in figure 3 (a), the model fits the data well, regardless of membrane size, indicating the correct geometrical scaling.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 80%

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Mechanical Characterization of Thin-Film Composites using the Load-Deflection Response of Multilayer Membranes - Elastic and Fracture Properties

2006

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This paper reports on the refinement of a mechanical model for the load-deflection of multilayer membranes under uniform differential pressure and on its application to the experimental extraction of material parameters. Going beyond previous results, the analytical model takes into account the mechanics of multilayers and elastic supports covering all cases between rigidly clamped to simply supported structures and enables the straightforward assessment of stress profiles within the deformed structures. A comprehensive set of long membranes made of various multilayers of silicon nitride and oxide films are fabricated and characterized. The out-of-plane deflection profile under pressure load is monitored by means of a laser profilometer. The pressure is stepped up until fracture occurs. From the stress profiles in the membrane at fracture, the brittle material strength is analyzed using Weibull statistics. The bulge setup has been fully automated for the measurement of 80 membranes per wafer. This realizes, for the first time, the high throughput-acquisition of mechanical thin film data with convincing statistical control.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 80%

“…This is the so-called bulge test [1,2]. Membranes with square, rectangular and circular geometries have been measured and a wide variety of materials have been characterized [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Characterization of Thin-Film Composites using the Load-Deflection Response of Multilayer Membranes - Elastic and Fracture Properties

2006

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“…It Figure 1. Schematics of the plane-strain deformation of a long membrane (and its extended middle section) under the influence of a uniform differential pressure P. In case of strongly compressive silicon films, these are stacked with highly tensile LPCVD Si 3 N 4 layers (σ 0 > 1 GPa [8][9][10][11]) yielding plane-strain membranes without post-buckling deflection at P = 0. Diaphragms with an aspect ratio of 10:1 and widths a ranging from 400 to 800 µm were processed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Parameters such as the plane-strain modulus E ps and prestress σ 0 can be extracted from the measurement of the pressure-deflection response of membranes composed of those films [7][8][9], as well as their fracture characteristics [10,11]. The mechanical properties of c-Si and poly-Si materials have been extensively characterized [9][10][11]. However, there exist few published results about the mechanical properties of low-temperature silicon films.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Properties and Reliability of Amorphous vs. Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films

2008

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This paper presents the mechanical characterization of both elastic and fracture properties of thin silicon films from the load-deflection response of membranes, also known as the bulge test. Properties extracted include the plane-strain modulus, prestress, fracture strength and Weibull modulus. Diaphragms made of low-temperature, hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon films (a-Si:H and nc-Si:H, respectively) deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and, for comparison, membranes composed of hightemperature polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) have been fabricated and characterized. The structures are bulged until failure occurs. From the stress profiles in the diaphragms at fracture, the brittle material strength is analyzed using Weibull statistics. The bulge setup is fully automated for the sequential measurement of several membranes on a substrate realizing the high-throughput acquisition of data under well controlled conditions. A comprehensive study of the mechanical properties of low-temperature silicon films as a function of deposition parameters, namely substrate temperature, RF power, hydrogen dilution and doping, is presented.

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“…Except M1 (see Figure 9 ), all the metal membranes had convex shapes or the cantilevers were curled down, which shows a domination of negative stress gradients along the structure thickness and most probably an overall domination of compressive stress. According to the literature, thin Al and AlCu films usually exhibit slightly tensile stress at room temperature [ 21 ]. Most likely, Ti/TiN layers contribution of compressive stress and its negative gradient across the film thickness dominates tensile properties of AlCu, as it was demonstrated for M3 layer of this technology in [ 11 ].…”

Section: Process Characterizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiments on MEMS Integration in 0.25 μm CMOS Process

Michalik

Fernandez

Wietstruck

et al. 2018

Sensors

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In this paper, we share our practical experience gained during the development of CMOS-MEMS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) devices in IHP SG25 technology. The experimental prototyping process is illustrated with examples of three CMOS-MEMS chips and starts from rough process exploration and characterization, followed by the definition of the useful MEMS design space to finally reach CMOS-MEMS devices with inertial mass up to 4.3 μg and resonance frequency down to 4.35 kHz. Furthermore, the presented design techniques help to avoid several structural and reliability issues such as layer delamination, device stiction, passivation fracture or device cracking due to stress.

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Material Characterization

Cited by 8 publications

References 101 publications

Mechanical Characterization of Thin-Film Composites using the Load-Deflection Response of Multilayer Membranes - Elastic and Fracture Properties

Mechanical Characterization of Thin-Film Composites using the Load-Deflection Response of Multilayer Membranes - Elastic and Fracture Properties

Mechanical Properties and Reliability of Amorphous vs. Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films

Experiments on MEMS Integration in 0.25 μm CMOS Process

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