Reliability and failure in single crystal silicon MEMS devices

Neels, Antonia; Dommann, Alex; Schifferle, A.; Papes, O.; Mazza, Edoardo

doi:10.1016/j.microrel.2008.07.018

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…[5][6][7][8][9] Their presence and mobility decrease the performance and favor failure after a certain period of application. [10][11][12][13] Epitaxial growth of semiconductor materials is a well-established manufacturing method, but it is also well known for introducing edge misfit and screw threading dislocations. [14][15][16] Processes such as, wafer bonding, [17] chemical etching, and e-beam lithography, [18] can also have detrimental effects on the crystal structure of semiconductor materials.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/smtd202100932mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lattice Strain and Defects Analysis in Nanostructured Semiconductor Materials and Devices by High‐Resolution X‐Ray Diffraction: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

et al. 2021

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The reliability of semiconductor materials with electrical and optical properties are connected to their structures. The elastic strain field and tilt analysis of the crystal lattice, detectable by the variation in position and shape of the diffraction peaks, is used to quantify defects and investigate their mobility. The exploitation of high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction‐based methods for the evaluation of structural defects in semiconductor materials and devices is reviewed. An efficient and non‐destructive characterization is possible for structural parameters such as, lattice strain and tilt, layer composition and thickness, lattice mismatch, and dislocation density. The description of specific experimental diffraction geometries and scanning methods is provided. Today's X‐ray diffraction based methods are evaluated and compared, also with respect to their applicability limits. The goal is to understand the close relationship between lattice strain and structural defects. For different material systems, the appropriate analytical methods are highlighted.

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Section: Doi: 101002/smtd202100932mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lattice Strain and Defects Analysis in Nanostructured Semiconductor Materials and Devices by High‐Resolution X‐Ray Diffraction: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

et al. 2021

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“…Strain distributions in in-situ deformed microstructures under bending and tensile loads have been investigated using this method [21][32] [33]. HRXRD measurements have also been used to evaluate strain caused by adhesives and strain gradients close to bonding interfaces and to correlate the degradation during accelerated aging tests with changes in the strain level of MEMS components [34]- [37].…”

Section: Residual Stresses and Their Analysis By Hrxrdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical properties of MEMS materials: reliability investigations by mechanical- and HRXRD-characterization related to environmental testing

2014

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The performance and aging of MEMS often rely on the stability of the mechanical properties over time and under harsh conditions. An overview is given on methods to investigate small variations of the mechanical properties of structural MEMS materials by functional characterization, high-resolution x-ray diffraction methods (HR-XRD) and environmental testing. The measurement of the dynamical properties of micro-resonators is a powerful method for the investigation of elasticity variations in structures relevant to microtechnology. X-ray diffraction techniques are used to analyze residual strains and deformations with high accuracy and in a non-destructive manner at surfaces and in buried micro-structures. The influence of elevated temperatures and radiation damage on the performance of resonant microstructures with a focus on quartz and single crystal silicon is discussed and illustrated with examples including work done in our laboratories at CSEM and EPFL.

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“…Since this radiation source is common in the space environment, it needs to be investigated." One promising technique to investigate and quantify damage due to irradiation is double and triple crystal x-ray diffractometry, which has been used, for example, to measure the damage due to deep reactive ion etching ͑DRIE͒ of silicon MEMS parts, 36 as well as for space applications. 37 Though not strictly speaking a MEMS device, the sensitivity of quartz resonators to radiation has been studied, and a review can be found in Ref.…”

Section: Mechanical Failures Due To Displacementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiation sensitivity of microelectromechanical system devices

Shea

2009

J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS MOEMS

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Abstract. The sensitivity of microelectromechanical system ͑MEMS͒ devices to radiation is reviewed, with an emphasis on radiation levels representative of space missions rather than of operation in nuclear reactors. As a purely structural material, silicon has shown no mechanical degradation after radiation doses in excess of 100 Mrad. MEMS devices, even when excluding control/readout electronics, have, however, failed at doses of only 20 krad, though some devices have been shown to operate correctly for doses greater than 10 Mrad. Radiation sensitivity depends strongly on the sensing or actuation principle, device design, and materials, and is linked primarily to the impact on device operation of radiation-induced trapped charge in dielectrics. MEMS devices operating on electrostatic principles can be highly sensitive to charge accumulation in dielectric layers, especially for designs with dielectrics located between moving parts. In contrast, thermally and electromagnetically actuated MEMS are much more radiation tolerant. MEMS operating on piezoresitive principles start to slowly degrade at low doses, but do not fail catastrophically until doses of several Mrad. A survey of all published reports of radiation effects on MEMS is presented, as well as a summary of techniques that can improve their radiation tolerance.

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Reliability and failure in single crystal silicon MEMS devices

Cited by 11 publications

References 6 publications

Lattice Strain and Defects Analysis in Nanostructured Semiconductor Materials and Devices by High‐Resolution X‐Ray Diffraction: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

Lattice Strain and Defects Analysis in Nanostructured Semiconductor Materials and Devices by High‐Resolution X‐Ray Diffraction: Theoretical and Practical Aspects

Mechanical properties of MEMS materials: reliability investigations by mechanical- and HRXRD-characterization related to environmental testing

Radiation sensitivity of microelectromechanical system devices

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