Unlocking the potential of piezoelectric films grown on vertical surfaces for inertial MEMS

Gabrelian, Artem; Ross, Glenn; Bespalova, Kristina; Paulasto‐Kröckel, Mervi

doi:10.1016/j.mtcomm.2022.104522

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, piezo half tuning fork MEMS gyroscope demonstrated in the work by Gabrelian et al. [ 3 ] would require only 0.00846 mm 2 while other demonstrated gyroscopes with similar sensitivity occupy from 2 to 72 mm 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, multiaxial motion on the nanoscale introduces new approaches to nanoswitches of complex design, optical beam steering devices, and gyroscopes. [2][3] Moreover, nanoscale 3D motion can play a pivotal role in addressing the issue of multifunctional nanomanipulators that move and configure nanosized particles, cells, and other biological objects. [4] In addition, compact 3D MEMS would introduce novel inertial MEMS with superior accuracy and high functional density meaning large number of devices located on small surface area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[4] In addition, compact 3D MEMS would introduce novel inertial MEMS with superior accuracy and high functional density meaning large number of devices located on small surface area. For example, piezo half tuning fork MEMS gyroscope demonstrated in the work by Gabrelian et al [3] would require only 0.00846 mm 2 while other demonstrated gyroscopes with similar sensitivity occupy from 2 to 72 mm 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fabrication process of the actuator is easily compatible with mass production and the structure can be used as a platform for a wide range of devices from energy harvesters and compact gyroscopes to nanoswitches and manipulators. [3,11] In the Section 2 of this paper the AlN growth on the vertical surfaces and concept of the device fabrication are discussed. Section 3 contains detailed fabrication flow of the device and description of the characterization methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

In‐Plane AlN‐based Actuator: Toward a New Generation of Piezoelectric MEMS

Bespalova

Nieminen

Gabrelian

et al. 2023

Adv Elect Materials

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A novel design that utilizes aluminum nitride (AlN) piezoelectric thin films deposited on vertical surfaces for lateral motion and sensing is a step toward emerging multi-axial microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). This work demonstrates the fabrication process and potential applications of an in-plane moving piezoactuator. The actuator is excited using the inverse piezoelectric effect of the AlN thin film grown on the vertical surfaces of a Si cantilever. Lateral motion of the actuator is enabled when a voltage is applied between the top and bottom electrodes of the device, which are highly doped Si and titanium nitride thin film. The motion of the actuator is captured using scanning electron microscope.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

In‐Plane AlN‐based Actuator: Toward a New Generation of Piezoelectric MEMS

Bespalova

Nieminen

Gabrelian

et al. 2023

Adv Elect Materials

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Comparing our devices with the published works, despite the extensive use of piezoelectric transducers in several applications, including energy harvesters [ 43 ], microphones [ 55 ], inertial sensors [ 56 ], and bulk acoustic resonators [ 57 ], to the best of our knowledge, there are no works focusing on the PIC waveguide alignment application. The only report found for PICs’ alignment was presented in [ 34 ] to align an optical fiber with a photonic device.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Aluminum Nitride Out-of-Plane Piezoelectric MEMS Actuators

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Integrating microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuators with low-loss suspended silicon nitride waveguides enables the precise alignment of these waveguides to other photonic integrated circuits (PICs). This requires both in-plane and out-of-plane actuators to ensure high-precision optical alignment. However, most current out-of-plane electrostatic actuators are bulky, while electrothermal actuators consume high power. Thus, piezoelectric actuators, thanks to their moderate actuation voltages and low power consumption, could be used as alternatives. Furthermore, piezoelectric actuators can provide displacements in two opposite directions. This study presents a novel aluminum nitride-based out-of-plane piezoelectric MEMS actuator equipped with a capacitive sensing mechanism to track its displacement. This actuator could be integrated within PICs to align different chips. Prototypes of the device were tested over the range of ±60 V, where they provided upward and downward displacements, and achieved a total average out-of-plane displacement of 1.30 ± 0.04 μm. Capacitance measurement showed a linear relation with the displacement, where at −60 V, the average change in capacitance was found to be −13.10 ± 0.89 fF, whereas at 60 V the change was 11.09 ± 0.73 fF. This study also investigates the effect of the residual stress caused by the top metal electrode, on the linearity of the displacement–voltage relation. The simulation predicts that the prototype could be modified to accommodate waveguide routing above it without affecting its performance, and it could also incorporate in-plane lateral actuators.

show abstract

Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition of AlN on High Degree Roughness Vertical Surfaces for MEMS Fabrication

Bespalova,

Ross,

Suihkonen

et al. 2024

Adv Elect Materials

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aluminum nitride (AlN) grown on vertical surfaces can be utilized for the fabrication of advanced piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The in‐plane motion of the parts of a MEMS element is possible when AlN is deposited on the vertical surfaces of the moving structure. For the best device performance, AlN must have high crystal quality, uniform coverage of the vertical sidewalls, and c‐axis crystalline orientation perpendicular to the plane of a vertical surface. The impact of the surface roughness (Rq) of the vertical sidewalls formed in Si using wet and dry etching methods on the crystal quality, crystallographic orientation, and uniformity of the metalorganic chemical vapor deposited (MOCVD) AlN thin films is studied in this paper. In both cases, AlN films demonstrated full sidewall coverage and grew crystalline in the c‐axis direction. AlN films grown on vertical Si surfaces achieved using anisotropic wet etching are highly crystalline and oriented in [0001] direction, while the films grown on vertical surfaces achieved using dry etching displayed a lower level of alignment with the Si sidewalls.

show abstract

Unlocking the potential of piezoelectric films grown on vertical surfaces for inertial MEMS

Cited by 3 publications

References 18 publications

In‐Plane AlN‐based Actuator: Toward a New Generation of Piezoelectric MEMS

In‐Plane AlN‐based Actuator: Toward a New Generation of Piezoelectric MEMS

Aluminum Nitride Out-of-Plane Piezoelectric MEMS Actuators

Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition of AlN on High Degree Roughness Vertical Surfaces for MEMS Fabrication

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About