Measurement of the Effective Piezoelectric Constant of Nitride Thin Films and Heterostructures Using Scanning Force Microscopy

Rodriguez, B. J.; Kim, D. J.; Kingon, Angus I.; Nemanich, R. J.

doi:10.1557/proc-693-i9.9.1

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Figure 3 shows the linear dependence of the displacement of the sample surface on the applied voltage measured at a sputtered aluminium nitride film. The piezoelectric constant d 33 was calculated to 5.4 ± 0.2 pm/V which is in good agreement with values reported elsewhere [8,10,11]. Additional measurements using a homodyne Michelson interferometer set-up supported the above obtained results.…”

supporting

confidence: 91%

“…To study the inverse piezoelectric effect, a modulation voltage is applied between the top electrode and the substrate, which causes the piezoelectric film to oscillate at the same frequency as the applied voltage. In piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) this bias-induced deformation is detected by a common silicon AFM-tip which is brought into contact with the surface of the metallic top electrode [8,9]. Thus, the vertical displacement of the tip follows accurately the piezoelectric motion of the sample surface.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Piezoelectric properties of thin AlN layers for MEMS application determined by piezoresponse force microscopy

Tonisch

Cimalla

Foerster

et al. 2006

Phys. Status Solidi (c)

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Piezoelectric properties of aluminium nitride thin films were measured using both, the piezoresponse force microscopy and an interferometric technique. Wurtzite AlN thin films were prepared on Si (111) substrates by reactive DC-sputtering and by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Direct measurements of the inverse piezoelectric effect in the picometer range showed that the acceptable tolerance in the crystal orientation is much larger for MEMS applications than expected previously. The value of the piezoelectric coefficient d 33 for the prepared AlN thin films was determined to be 5.36 ± 0.25 pm/V for highly textured as well as for polycrystalline thin films with a (002) preferential orientation. 1 Introduction Micromechanical resonators show significant promise for many sensor applications such as chemical and biological sensing, electrometry and scanning probe techniques. In these applications, a change in mass, temperature, charge, or any other applied force induces a small shift in the resonance frequency of the oscillator [1]. Typically, resonators require both an actuation and a detection of the resonance frequency. The main advantage of using the (inverse) piezoelectric effect is the possibility to use it in both ways, the inverse effect as actuation and the direct one as detection.The exceptional properties of wide-bandgap III-V nitride semiconductors are promising for such applications. Among the nitrides AlN has the largest piezoelectric coefficients and good mechanical strength [2], which makes AlN a favourite material for electromechanical devices in micro-and nanometer scale. Unfortunately, epitaxial growth of AlN only occurs at high temperatures which makes the epitaxial deposition incompatible for the integration in CMOS or other technologies sensitive to heat. Therefore much effort has been made to grow highly textured polycrystalline films with low temperature processes like reactive sputtering.The piezoelectricity of wurtzite AlN is characterized by three independent piezoelectric coefficients d 33 , d 31 (= d 32 ) and d 15 (= d 24 ) [3]. While measuring the piezoelectric effects of thin films, it is important to bear in mind that the macroscopic piezoelectric response is the result of the contributions of all the dipoles (grains) of the film. The highest values are reached when all the dipoles are aligned along the same direction and have the same polarity, thus contributing with the same sign to the net piezoelectric response [4]. Therefore a c-axis preferential orientation is crucial for a high piezoelectric response of thin films. However, as we will show by direct measurements in the picometer range, the inverse piezolelectric effect is much less effected by the crystal quality than the coupling factor k 2 , which is usually measured for SAW applications [5]. In fact, the acceptable tolerance in the crystal orientation for actuator and resonator applications is much larger than expected, because the inverse piezoelectric effect is mainly

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confidence: 91%

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confidence: 99%

Piezoelectric properties of thin AlN layers for MEMS application determined by piezoresponse force microscopy

Tonisch

Cimalla

Foerster

et al. 2006

Phys. Status Solidi (c)

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“…PFM has been employed to determine the polarity in llJ-nitride thin films and bulk crystals [47][48][49]. PFM of a GaN-based LPH is shown in Figure 14.…”

Section: Measurement Of Polarity Effects By Spmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They employed scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) to investigate threading dislocations in GaN. Since then, SCM [13][14][15], electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) [16][17][18][19][20], Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36],conductive-tip atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46], piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) [47][48][49][50] and scanning gate microscopy (SGM) [51] have all been employed to characterize III-nitride films and surfaces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoscale Characterization of Electronic and Electrical Properties of III-Nitrides by Scanning Probe Microscopy

Rodriguez

Gruverman

Nemanich

Scanning Probe Microscopy

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Recent interest in the technological potential of nitride-based semiconductors has led to the development and commercialization of a wide range of electronic devices. The nanoscale investigation of the electric properties of III-nitride thin films, bulk crystals, and heterostructures is of considerable interest for determining how interfaces, defects, and inversion domain boundaries affect device performance. The pyroelectric nature of wurtzitic III-nitrides is characterized by a spontaneous polarization that exists without the presence of an external field and by a polarization-bound surface charge. Scanning probe-based measurements of surface contact potentials and surface band bending in these materials, which are of crucial importance to device design, are summarized in this review chapter. In addition, the role of charged defects on device performance is explored by scanning probe techniques. Lastly, the measurement of polarity and of the screening mechanism of III-nitrides, which are fundamental issues for the fabrication of devices based on polarity effects, are discussed. This chapter provides a critical analysis of the contributions made by scanning probe-based techniques toward a deeper understanding of the III-nitride material system.

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“…wurtzite AlN exhibits excellent piezoelectric properties and is expected to maintain its properties up to 1150 °C [2]. Even though the piezoelectric properties depend on the microstructure of the films, polycrystalline AlN films with preferred c-axis orientation are known to exhibit properties similar to crystalline AlN films [3], [4], [5], [6], [7].…”

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confidence: 99%

Development of surface micromachined Aluminum Nitride air-bridges for piezoelectric MEMS/NEMS applications by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy techniques

Kuchibhatla¹

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Development of surface micromachined Aluminum Nitride air-bridges for piezoelectric MEMS/NEMS applications by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy techniques Sridhar Kuchibhatla Group III-nitrides have attracted considerable attention for piezoelectric Micro/Nano electromechanical (MEMS/NEMS) applications due to their excellent bio compatibility, well developed growth techniques for high quality thin films and structural stability at high temperatures when compared to the commonly used piezoelectric metal oxides. Among the group III-nitrides Aluminum Nitride (AlN) possess superior material properties such as highest piezoelectric coefficient and good mechanical properties. Growth techniques for fabricating group III-nitride MEMS/NEMS by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) techniques have involved sacrificial layers such as epitaxial group IIInitrides/alloys, nanocrystalline films and porous interlayers. However, the material properties of the MOVPE grown films on the amorphous sacrificial layers such as silicon oxide have not been adequately investigated to evaluate potential MEMS/NEMS devices such as piezoelectric micro/ nanofluidic channels.

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Measurement of the Effective Piezoelectric Constant of Nitride Thin Films and Heterostructures Using Scanning Force Microscopy

Cited by 7 publications

References 19 publications

Piezoelectric properties of thin AlN layers for MEMS application determined by piezoresponse force microscopy

Piezoelectric properties of thin AlN layers for MEMS application determined by piezoresponse force microscopy

Nanoscale Characterization of Electronic and Electrical Properties of III-Nitrides by Scanning Probe Microscopy

Development of surface micromachined Aluminum Nitride air-bridges for piezoelectric MEMS/NEMS applications by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy techniques

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