Piezoelectric aluminum nitride nanoelectromechanical actuators

Sinha, Nipun; Wabiszewski, Graham E.; Mahameed, Rashed; Felmetsger, Valery V.; Tanner, S. M.; Carpick, Robert W.; Piazza, Gianluca

doi:10.1063/1.3194148

Cited by 152 publications

(100 citation statements)

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“…[16] In an early comprehensive study of tribopolymer formation, Pt x Si formed from thin film Pt and a sc-Si wafer is described by a two-reaction process (Figure 1c). [23,24] Since common NEM switch geometries [2,25] demand silicidation away from the sc-Si carrier wafer, the sc-Si/Pt silicidation process is incompatible with NEM switch geometries, especially if co-integration with CMOS is desired. Furthermore, silicide-release using existing device topologies would require silicidation on both the top and bottom of features, which is not compatible with sc-Si/Pt process.…”

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“…The deposition of AlN also allowed the mimicking of the topology of existing piezoelectrically-actuated NEM switch prototypes. [25] Thin layers of a-Si and Pt of 100-200 nm-thickness were subsequently sputter-coated on top of the AlN layer. The a-Si and Pt depositions were conducted sequentially in the same deposition system with vacuum maintained, thus minimizing adsorbed contamination between the layers and oxidation of the a-Si, both of which would inhibit silicidation.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Tunable, Source‐Controlled Formation of Platinum Silicides and Nanogaps from Thin Precursor Films

Streller

Wabiszewski

Mangolini

et al. 2014

Adv Materials Inter

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Keywords: platinum silicide, thin films, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nanoindentation, conductive atomic force microscopy Controlling the stoichiometry and properties of thin films formed from solid-state reactions is relatively unexplored, yet important for a broad range applications including many throughout the semiconductor industry. [1,2] Here we use source-limited solid-state diffusion to tune the stoichiometry and properties of thin films of platinum silicide (Pt x Si), a material with multiple attractive properties for electro-mechanical applications. [3,4] We demonstrate for the first time the formation of Pt x Si from thin sequentially-deposited layers of platinum (Pt) and amorphous silicon (a-Si), and show that the resulting stoichiometry can be tuned over a wide range by simply changing the thickness ratio of the precursor films. Pt-rich silicide films are especially attractive as a contact material for nanoelectromechanical (NEM) contact switches, due to the combination of high hardness and elastic modulus, surface stability, and metal-like electrical conductivity. This method of tuning the stoichiometry and properties of thin films is applicable to any metal silicide. 2Metal silicides possess a rare combination of thermal stability, mechanical robustness, and metal-like electrical conductivity. This renders them popular in both bulk and thin film form for many structural and electronic applications, such as materials for jet engines, thermoelectric devices, Ohmic and rectifying contacts to silicon, local interconnects, and diffusion barriers. [5] A more recent application involves their use in NEM contact switches.NEM switches are a potential next-generation, low power alternative to fully-electronic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistors (Figure 1a) that may significantly decrease microprocessor power consumption. [1,2,6] These devices promise orders of magnitude lower power consumption and superior ON/OFF ratios than CMOS (Figure 1b) Ð a consequence of NEM device topology and the presence of a physical gap between the source and drain terminals. [1,2] NEM switches have also demonstrated applications not accessible with CMOS Ð most notably exposure to high temperature, [7] radiation, [8,9] and external electric fields.[10] These advantages also render them of interest for future memory technologies.[1] However, the reliability of the contact interface is a concern due to tribological issues, and remains a key challenge for their commercialization. a, Schematic of a typical solid-state switch and an electrostatically actuated mechanical switch that highlights the structural analogies between both switch types. The magnified view to the right illustrates the physical separation between source and drain in the mechanical switch in its OFF state and emphasizes the demanding requirements on contact materials in nanoscale mechanical switches, which are a consequence of the harsh operating conditions (high contact stresses and current densities). b, Schematic current-voltage p...

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Tunable, Source‐Controlled Formation of Platinum Silicides and Nanogaps from Thin Precursor Films

Streller

Wabiszewski

Mangolini

et al. 2014

Adv Materials Inter

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“…Therefore device scaling in terms of electrode width and film thickness ultimately yields a sensor with a better LOD for gas concentrations (or mass per unit area). Functional AlN films as thin as 50 and 100 nm [23][24][25][26][27] have been demonstrated and are the target thickness for the making of the CMR-S. In this paper 250 nm thick devices are presented.…”

Section: B Aln Contour-mode Resonant Sensor Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoscaled piezoelectric aluminum nitride contour-mode resonant sensors

2010

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This paper reports on a new class of nanoscaled piezoelectric aluminum nitride contour-mode resonant sensors (CMR-S) that have been developed for the gravimetric detection of volatile organic chemicals (VOC). The use of the CMR-S and its scaling for the making of large arrays of detectors is justified in terms of the superior sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD ~ zg/μm 2 ) that this technology attains with respect to any other available acoustic device. The choice of a novel functionalization layer based on ss-DNA is introduced as an effective way to selectively detect multiple VOCs without altering the electromechanical characteristics of the resonator. Experimental results confirming the advantages of scaling the device dimensions and its frequency of operation in terms of improved LOD and measurement speed are presented. Furthermore, preliminary data showing selective detection of dymethyl-methylphosphonate (DMMP) and dinitroluene (DNT) (with LOD in the order of ppt) are reported. Disciplines Electrical and Computer Engineering | Engineering CommentsSuggested Citation: Piazza, Gianluca; Rinaldi, Matteo; Zuniga, Chiara; , "Nanoscaled piezoelectric aluminum nitride contourmode resonant sensors," Sensors, 2010 IEEE , vol., no., pp.2202-2207, 1-4 Nov. 2010. ©2010 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.

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“…The growth of aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film on a metal electrode has been widely studied because of its potential application in many devices, such as piezoelectric resonators, 1,2 nanoelectromechanical actuators, 3 and energy harvesting devices. 4 The piezoelectric properties of AlN strongly depend on the crystallinity, 5 c-axis orientation, 6 and polar distribution of the film structure.…”

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The extraordinary role of the AlN interlayer in growth of AlN sputtered on Ti electrodes

Tran

Pandraud

Tichelaar

et al. 2013

Applied Physics Letters

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The structure of AlN layers grown on Ti with and without an AlN interlayer between the Si substrate and the Ti layer is investigated. The AlN grains take over the orientation of the Ti columnar grains in both cases. Surprisingly, the Ti grains do not take over completely the orientations of the AlN grains of the interlayer, and show the same columnar grain structure as the sample without interlayer. Hence, the structure of the AlN top layer is independent of the presence of an AlN interlayer below the Ti layer and is mainly determined by the Ti layer microstructure.

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Piezoelectric aluminum nitride nanoelectromechanical actuators

Cited by 152 publications

References 14 publications

Tunable, Source‐Controlled Formation of Platinum Silicides and Nanogaps from Thin Precursor Films

Tunable, Source‐Controlled Formation of Platinum Silicides and Nanogaps from Thin Precursor Films

Nanoscaled piezoelectric aluminum nitride contour-mode resonant sensors

The extraordinary role of the AlN interlayer in growth of AlN sputtered on Ti electrodes

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