residual stress – TechConnect Briefs

Fabrication and analysis of MEMS test structures for residual stress measurement

Sharma A., Kaur M., Bansal D., Kumar D., Rangra K., Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI/ CSIR), IN

A set of microstructures for in situ stress measurement is presented. It is based on lancet principle, with dedicated design for the amplification of the dimensional variations induced by the internal stress of the structural [...]

Residual Stress Dependency on Wafer Location of Thin Film PECVD Silicon Nitride

Godin J.R., Won P.M. Nieva S.-H.P., Phong L.N., University of Waterloo, CA

The residual stress of use plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride has been investigated in the past. The majority of these studies utilize bulk stress measurements through wafer curvature, assuming that the residual [...]

Effect of Nonlinear Structural Stiffness on the Response of Capacitive MEMS Devices

Shavezipur M., Nieva P., Khajepour A., Hashemi S.M., University of Waterloo, CA

In this paper, a design technique is presented that can linearize the response of MEMS capacitive elements such as tunable capacitors, capacitive sensors and out-of-plane electrostatic actuators. The method combinations the electrode flexibility and nonlinear [...]

Residual Stress Measurements of High Spatial Resolution

Vogel D., Luczak F., Michel B., Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, DE

Residual stresses in semiconductor and MEMS devices superposing functional and environmental loading are one of the crucial reliability issues as they can add significant stress levels leading finally to component damage. Most of routinely used [...]

Mechanical Properties of Polycrystalline 3C-SiC Heteroepitaxial Layers

Pozzi M., Harris A.J., Burdess J.S., Lee K.K., Cheung R., Newcastle University, UK

Silicon carbide (SiC) is widely recognised as the leading candidate to replace silicon in Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices operating in harsh environments. The superiority of SiC over Si as regards mechanical, chemical and electronic [...]

Mechanical Properties Measurements of 0.35-µm BiCMOS MEMS Structures

Liu J., Fedder G.K., Sassolini S., Sarkar N., Carnegie Mellon University, US

A new Young’s modulus test structure has been designed and used in our lab. Simple models have been built in simulating lateral and vertical stress gradients. Test structures, measurements and FEA simulations are reported on [...]

Influence of photo-initiator concentration on residual mechanical stress in SU-8 thin films

Psoma S.D., Jenkins D.W.K., Derbyshire G.E., Stevens R., CCLRC RUTHERFORD APPLETON LABORATORY, UK

The negative photoresist SU-8 is widely used in the development and fabrication of MEMS devices. The structures of the resist are the product of photochemical and thermal cationic processes and result in vertical sidewalls and [...]

A Study on Alleviating Deformation of MEMS Structure and Prediction of Residual Stress in Surface Micromachining

Kweon S., Hong S., Shin H., Jeon B., Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, KR

When MEMS Structure, like RF switch, manufactured in high temperature is cooled down to the room temperature, the difference of the thermal expansion coefficients of structural materials, which are aluminum layer for electrical function and [...]

Numerical Simulation of Electronic Properties in Quantum Dot Hheterostructures

Vlahovic B., Filikhin I., Suslov V.M., Wang K., North Carolina Central University, US

Because of the strong dependence of energy level on the geometry and sizes, the quantum dots are perfect candidates as high efficiency photovoltaic solar cells. Efficiency of 63.2% solar cell has been predicted by theoretical [...]

Nano-bending Method to Identify the Residual Stresses of MEMS Films

Kim J.G., Kim J.H., Kim Y.H., Kim J.G., Kim J.H., Kim Y.H., Hahn J.H., Lee H.Y., Kim J.G., Kim J.H., Kim Y.H., Seoul National University, KR

Surface micro-machined MEMS frequently suffer from the residual stress which might significantly decrease the performance and reliability of micro devices. It is important to accurately measure the residual stresses at manufacturing step. The Stoney’s equation [...]