Recent improvements of SiC micro‐resonators

Abstract

Due to the increasing demand for sensors operating in harsh environment and significant advancements in high quality SiC layers free of stress,-this material has received a great interest for the fabrication of micro-and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS). Recent developments have allowed the fabrication of many mechanical SiC devices, especially resonator devices, with a simple cantilever or bridge, which are very attractive as transducers for chemical or biological sensors. Cantilevers, bridges and other resonant structures were successfully fabricated. The first results have clearly shown the advantage of SiC compared to Si for many sensors applications.

Growth and Characterization of 3C-SiC Films for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Applications

“…MEMS offer significant advantages over hybrid systems and devices because of their small dimensions, integration of different components and low power consumption. 6,[15][16][17] Although Si is presently the most used material for MEMS fabrication, it has serious limitations for some applications, such as high temperature (T > 300 °C) and/or harsh environments with corrosive chemicals and biocompatibility. Therefore, alternative materials are required for MEMS applications.…”

“…Some areas in which these systems are already applied are shock sensors for airbag, inkjet printers, accelerometers and gyroscopes for boats and airplanes, entertainment, healthcare instruments, communication and information technologies, biology and biosensors. MEMS offer significant advantages over hybrid systems and devices because of their small dimensions, integration of different components and low power consumption. ,− …”

3C-SiC: New Interest for MEMS Devices

“…Thanks to its electrical properties, silicon carbide (SiC) is considered as the material of choice for high power and high temperature electronic devices while mechanical properties make it very attractive for Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) applications [1][2][3]. Moreover, its physical and chemical parameters (hardness, inertness, melting point, operative temperature …) render it suitable to operate in harsh environments [4][5][6].…”