AVS 47th International Symposium
    MEMS Thursday Sessions
       Session MM-ThA

Invited Paper MM-ThA6
Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Polysilicon and Poly-SiC Films for MEMS

Thursday, October 5, 2000, 3:40 pm, Room 309

Session: Material Science of MEMS
Presenter: H. Kahn, Case Western Reserve University
Authors: H. Kahn, Case Western Reserve University
A.H. Heuer, Case Western Reserve University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Polysilicon films deposited via LPCVD are the current mainstay structural material for MEMS. It is well known that the microstructures and residual stresses of these films are influenced by deposition temperature. We have developed a novel processing approach (the MultiPoly process) which exploits this concept by using polysilicon multilayers in order to create flat structures, as well as structures with controlled curvatures. The effect of microstructure on mechanical properties is less well known. We have also developed a surface-micromachined electrostatic microactuator capable of generating 0.7 mN of force. The microactuator can be integrated with on-chip fracture mechanics specimens, and these devices have been used for studying strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance of polysilicon. Similar studies have also been done on poly-SiC films.