Resonance Method: An Attractive Way to Evaluate Mechanical Properties of Thin Gold Films

Abstract

Micromechanical test structures have been developed for evaluating mechanical properties of thin gold films. Using micromachining techniques, gold cantilever beams of different geometry (typically 40 to 100-µm-long, 2-µm-thick and around 1-µm-wide), were fabricated. These cantilevers were resonated by electrical excitation in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Young's modulus, Q-factor and fatigue properties were deduced from these experiments. The longest cantilevers showed a slight upward curvature which allowed the internal stress gradient to be evaluating.

Evaluation of Parylene as Protection Layer for Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers

“…This effect is characterized by a decrease of the resonant frequency with increasing DC bias voltage. A linear dependence of the resonant frequency versus the DC bias voltage has been demonstrated for square membranes and verified for circular membrane shapes (15). Thus the natural frequency of a membrane can be defined for zero DC bias voltage by extrapolation.…”

Mechanical Testing of Thin Films and Small Structures

“…As for the case of static testing, the accuracy of the method can be enhanced when beams with different lengths are fabricated and tested. [88] …”