Electromechanical resonances of SiC and AlN beams under ambient conditions

Brueckner, K.; Förster, Ch.; Tonisch, Katja; Cimalla, V.; Ambacher, A.; Stephan, Ralf; Blau, Kurt; Hein, Matthias

doi:10.1109/eumc.2005.1610243

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This effect is demonstrated in figure 24(a) for doubly clamped AlN and SiC beams on Si substrates. For the highly strained SiC beams (ε > 10 −4 ), the resonant frequency scales with 1/L [192,379,461], i.e. the strain-related term f (ε) dominates for SiC beams.…”

Section: Resonatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group III nitride and SiC based MEMS and NEMS: materials properties, technology and applications

Cimalla¹,

Pezoldt²,

Ambacher³

2007

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

347

217

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With the increasing requirements for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) regarding stability, miniaturization and integration, novel materials such as wide band gap semiconductors are attracting more attention. Polycrystalline SiC has first been implemented into Si micromachining techniques, mainly as etch stop and protective layers. However, the outstanding properties of wide band gap semiconductors offer many more possibilities for the implementation of new functionalities. Now, a variety of technologies for SiC and group III nitrides exist to fabricate fully wide band gap semiconductor based MEMS. In this paper we first review the basic technology (deposition and etching) for group III nitrides and SiC with a special focus on the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures relevant for MEMS. The basic operation principle for MEMS with wide band gap semiconductors is described. Finally, the first applications of SiC based MEMS are demonstrated, and innovative MEMS and NEMS devices are reviewed.

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Section: Resonatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group III nitride and SiC based MEMS and NEMS: materials properties, technology and applications

Cimalla¹,

Pezoldt²,

Ambacher³

2007

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

347

217

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“…Besides geometrical design and material selection, the control of layer stress during fabrication provides an additional method to adjust the resonant frequencies f res [16] and to influence the intrinsic energy losses of the resonator beam [17]. Conversely, equation ( 2) offers an elegant method to determine the mechanical stress from the resonant behavior of a set of beam resonators of different length l, by evaluating the slope ∂(f res /f sim )/∂l, where f sim = ω n0 /2π is the calculated resonant frequency without strain; f res is the actual resonant frequency of the considered vibration mode n and is obtained from measurement [18]. Material properties and geometric dimension have to be known for f sim -calculation.…”

Section: Resonant Frequencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The induced response of the resonators is smaller than the exciting signal by 5 to 7 orders of magnitude and, therefore, challenging to detect. For the experimental characterization of the beams, therefore, we used a pulsed-measurement technique [18]. As illustrated in figure 5(a), the MEMS resonator is excited by voltage pulses of 1 to 5 µs duration and amplitudes of 50 to 250 mV.…”

Section: Pulsed-measurement Technique In the Time Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strain- and pressure-dependent RF response of microelectromechanical resonators for sensing applications

Brueckner

Cimalla

Niebelschütz

et al. 2007

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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MEMS resonators bear great potential for applications as RF sensors, filters and oscillators, e.g., in life sciences or information technology. A semiconductor fabrication process has been applied to prepare resonant AlN and SiC beams operating at frequencies between 0.1 and 2.1 MHz. The metallized beams were actuated in a permanent magnetic field of about 0.5 T by the Lorentz force. For systematic studies of the resonant frequencies and quality factors, the induced voltage was measured using time domain and frequency domain techniques. Resonator geometry, material and ambient pressure were varied to attain a generalized understanding of the RF performance. The dependence of the resonant frequency on tensile axial strain has been derived analytically and extended to include highly strained beams. Based on these formulas, accurate detection of the residual layer strain after fabrication is presented. To describe the quality factor a chain of beads model has been applied successfully. The influences of the beam width and the pressure-dependent viscosity on the model parameters are analyzed.

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“…Since the induced response of the resonators is smaller than the exciting signal by four to seven orders of magnitude, detection is quite challenging. Therefore, a measurement technique was employed that separates the response from the excitation in the time domain [17]. The resonator was excited by short voltage pulses, and the amplified response signal was monitored by a digital oscilloscope.…”

Section: Measurement Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensing applications of micro- and nanoelectromechanical resonators

Niebelschütz¹,

Cimalla²,

Brückner³

et al. 2007

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part N:

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The sensitivity of micro-and nanoscale resonator beams for sensing applications in ambient conditions was investigated. Micro-electromechanical (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) were realized using silicon carbide (SiC) and polycrystalline aluminium nitride (AlN) as active layers on silicon substrates. Resonant frequencies and quality factors in vacuum as well as in air were measured. The sensitivity behaviour under ambient conditions with a mass loading in the range of picogram (pg) was verified and measurements with biological mass loading were performed. In addition, the sensitivity to pressure variations was analysed.

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Electromechanical resonances of SiC and AlN beams under ambient conditions

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

Group III nitride and SiC based MEMS and NEMS: materials properties, technology and applications

Group III nitride and SiC based MEMS and NEMS: materials properties, technology and applications

Strain- and pressure-dependent RF response of microelectromechanical resonators for sensing applications

Sensing applications of micro- and nanoelectromechanical resonators

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