Effects of Fast Neutrons on the Electromechanical Properties of Materials Used in Microsystems

Petros, Gkotsis; Kilchytska, Valeriya; Fragkiadakis, Charalampos; Kirby, Paul B.; Raskin, J.-P.; Francis, Laurent

doi:10.1109/jmems.2012.2211578

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The results were attributed to a combination of displacement damage, injection annealing, and thermal spike effects. The effect of fast neutrons on the electromechanical properties of several materials used in microsystems has been studied and reported recently [7].…”

Section: Icro-electromechanical Systems (Mems)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Proton-Radiation Tolerance of Silicon and SU-8 as Structural Materials for High-Reliability MEMS

Bandi

Polido-Gomes

Neels

et al. 2013

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

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Abstract-The susceptibility of single-crystal silicon and SU-8 resonators to proton-radiation induced degradation was investigated. Both materials are in widespread use for microsystems structures, thus the stability of the mechanical properties must be ensured over the full device lifecycle. Effects of spacerelevant proton doses were examined by monitoring minute changes in the Young's modulus and by structural investigations using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). Single crystal silicon resonators were exposed to 10 MeV and 60 MeV protons with doses up to 10 13 cm −2 . Even at the highest doses neither a change of the Young's modulus was observed nor did Xray diffraction indicate the formation of elevated concentrations of structural defects. The compatibility of SU-8 with inorbit radiation environments was investigated at fluences of 10 10 -10 12 cm −2 using protons with energies ranging from 10 MeV to 200 MeV. Its elastic modulus changed by less than 5.5% at the highest doses.[2013-0009]

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Section: Icro-electromechanical Systems (Mems)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Proton-Radiation Tolerance of Silicon and SU-8 as Structural Materials for High-Reliability MEMS

Bandi

Polido-Gomes

Neels

et al. 2013

J. Microelectromech. Syst.

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“…The complete multi-step process flow for the fabrication of the Si samples is presented in Ref. 41. The thermal stress into the Si 3 N 4 film was measured equal to 1 GPa.…”

Section: Mechanical Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Test structures are fabricated on top of bulk Si wafers as explained in detail in Ref. 41. The internal tensile stress in the actuator is equal to 600 MPa in this case while the compressive stress in the evaporated Cr-Au bilayer is 900 MPa.…”

Section: Mechanical Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of radiations on the electromechanical properties of materials and on the piezoresistive and capacitive transduction mechanisms used in microsystems

et al. 2013

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The impact of different types of radiation on the electromechanical properties of materials used in microfabrication and on the capacitive and piezoresistive transduction mechanisms of MEMS is investigated. MEMS technologies could revolutionize avionics, satellite and space applications provided that the stress conditions which can compromise the reliability of microsystems in these environments are well understood. Initial tests with MEMS revealed a vulnerability of some types of devices to radiation induced dielectric charging, a physical mechanism which also affects microelectronics, however integration of novel functional materials in microfabrication and the current trend to substitute SiO 2 with high-k dielectrics in ICs pose new questions regarding reliability in radiation environments. The performance of MEMS devices with moving parts could also degrade due to radiation induced changes in the mechanical properties of the materials. It is thus necessary to investigate the effects of radiation on the properties of thin films used in microfabrication and here we report on tests with γ, high energy protons and fast neutrons radiation. Prototype SOI based MEMS magnetometers which were developed in UCL are also used as test vehicles to investigate radiation effects on the reliability of magnetically actuated and capacitively coupled MEMS.

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“…In this work, mechanical tests and irradiations were made on piezoelectrically activated silicon bulk-acoustic wave resonators in order to assess the devices' tolerance to these aspects of the hazardous environmental conditions in space. The influence of radiation on the mechanical properties of silicon has been studied by neutron irradiation, 14 γ-ray and electron irradiation, 15 and proton tests. The tolerance of MEMS to radiation depends on the operation principle, the design, and the material selection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of silicon tuning fork resonators under mechanical loads and space-relevant radiation conditions

Bandi

Baborowski

Dommann

et al. 2014

J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS

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This work reports on mechanical tests and irradiations made on silicon bulk-acoustic wave resonators. The resonators were based on a tuning fork geometry and actuated by a piezoelectric aluminum nitride layer. They had a resonance frequency of 150 kHz and a quality factor of about 20,000 under vacuum. The susceptibility of the devices to radiation-induced degradation was investigated using 60 Co γ-rays and 50 MeV protons with space-relevant doses of up to 170 krad. The performance of the devices after irradiation indicated a high tolerance to both ionizing damage and displacement damage effects. In addition, the device characteristics were evaluated after mechanical shock and vibration tests and only small effects on the devices were observed. In all experiments, no significant changes of the resonance characteristics were observed within the experimental uncertainty, which was below 100 ppm for the resonance frequency. The results support the efforts toward design and fabrication of highly reliable MEMS devices for space applications. Downloaded From: http://nanolithography.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 05/15/2015 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

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Effects of Fast Neutrons on the Electromechanical Properties of Materials Used in Microsystems

Cited by 7 publications

References 47 publications

Proton-Radiation Tolerance of Silicon and SU-8 as Structural Materials for High-Reliability MEMS

Proton-Radiation Tolerance of Silicon and SU-8 as Structural Materials for High-Reliability MEMS

Impact of radiations on the electromechanical properties of materials and on the piezoresistive and capacitive transduction mechanisms used in microsystems

Evaluation of silicon tuning fork resonators under mechanical loads and space-relevant radiation conditions

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