| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| MEMS and NEMS | Monday Sessions |
| Session MN-MoM |
| Session: | Materials Processing, Characterization and Fabrication Aspects |
| Presenter: | O. Auciello, Argonne National Laboratory |
| Authors: | O. Auciello, Argonne National Laboratory A.V. Sumant, Argonne National Laboratory J. Hiller, Argonne National Laboratory B. Kabius, Argonne National Laboratory |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
A new generation of low power microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical system (MEMS/NEMS) devices will require new materials and the integration of dissimilar materials, and new micro and nanofabrication processing techniques to achieve high device performance. Most MEMS devices are currently based on silicon because of the available surface micromachining technology. However, the poor mechanical and tribological properties of Si are not suitable for many high-performance MEMS/NEMS devices, such as resonators and switches. A novel ultra-nano crystalline diamond (UNCD) material developed in thin film form at Argonne exhibits exceptional mechanical and tribological properties that make UNCD a suitable material for a new generation of high-performance MEMS/NEMS devices. Piezoelectric-based MEMS attracts much attention due to their high sensitivity and low electrical noise in sensing applications and high-force output in actuation applications. Piezoelectric Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 (PZT) thin films have been intensively investigated over the past decade due to its potential applications in a wide variety of devices, such as non-volatile ferroelectric memories and piezoelectrically actuated MEMS/NEMS devices, which can be actuated at comparatively lower voltages (5-10 V) to those actuated by electrostatic action that required higher voltages. Therefore, the integration of functional PZT thin films with the UNCD-based MEMS/NEMS structures opens up the tantalizing possibility of advanced MEMS/NEMS devices. However, the integration of PZT and UNCD is challenging, mainly due to the PZT/UNCD interface and the need to grow PZT at high temperature in oxygen in the presence of a carbon-based material such as diamond. We will review in this paper the fundamental and applied materials science performed in our laboratory to achieve integration of PZT as a piezoelectric actuation material and UNCD as a mechanically superior platform for MEMS/NEMS, and the development of fabrication processes to produce high-performance hybrid PZT/UNCD MEMS.NEMS devices. We will also present data from test of hybrid PZT/UNCD piezo-actuated resonator structures.
This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, BES-Materials Sciences, under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.