Materials For MEMS and Microsystems

Materials for MEMS and
Microsystems
Silicon an ideal substrate material for

MEMS
Silicon (Si) is the most abundant material on earth. It almost always exists in
compounds with other elements
Single crystal silicon is the most widely used substrate material for MEMS and
microsystems.
The popularity of silicon for such application is primarily for the following
reasons:
1. It is mechanically stable and it is feasible to be integrated into electronics on

the same substrate
2. Electronics for signal transduction such as the p or n-type piezo resistive can
be readily integrated with the Substrate-ideal for transistors
Silicon an ideal substrate material for

MEMS
3. Silicon is almost an ideal structure material. It has about the same Youngs modulus
as steel (2x105MPa), but is as light as aluminum with a density of about 2.3 g/cm 3
4. It has a melting point at 1400oC, which is about twice higher than that of aluminum
5. Its thermal expansion coefficient is about 8 times smaller than that of steel, and is
more than 10 times smaller than that of aluminum
6. Silicon shows virtually no mechanical hysteresis. It is thus an ideal candidate
material for sensors and actuators
7. There is a greater flexibility in design and manufacture with silicon than with other
substrate materials
Single-Crystal Silicon
For silicon to be used as a substrate material in integrated circuits and
MEMS, it has to be in a pure single-crystal form
The most commonly used method of producing single-crystal silicon
is the Czochralski (CZ) method
The Czochralski method is used for producing single-crystal silicon
Equipment: a crucible and a puller
Single-Crystal Silicon
Procedure:
(1)Raw Si(quartzite) + coal, coke, woodchips) are
melted in the crucible.
(2)A seed crystal is brought to be in contact with
molten Si to form larger crystal
(3) The puller slowly pulls the molten Si up to
form pure Si boule after the solidification
(4) The diameters of the bologna-like boules
vary from 100 mm (4) to 300 mm (12) in
diameters
Chemical reaction for the process:
SiC+ SiO2 Si+ CO + SiO
Pure silicon wafers

Pure silicon boules of 300 mm diameter and 30 ft
long, can weigh up to 400 Kg
These boules are sliced into thin disks (wafers)
using diamond saws
Standard sizes of wafers are:
100 mm (4) diameter x 500 m thick

150 mm (6) diameter x 750 m thick
200 mm (8) diameter x 1 mm thick
300 mm (12) diameter x 750 m thick (tentative).
Single Silicon Crystal Structure

Single silicon crystals are basically of face-cubic-center(FCC)
structure
The crystal structure of a typical FCC crystal is shown below:
Note: Total number of atoms: 8 at corners and

6 at faces =14 atoms
Single Silicon Crystal Structure-Contd

Single crystal silicon, however has 4 extra atoms in the interior
The situation is like to merge two FCC crystals together as shown below:
Total no. of atoms in a single silicon crystal = 18

The unsymmetrical distribution of atoms within the crystal make pure silicon anisotropic in its
mechanical properties
In general, however, we treat silicon as an isotropic material
The Miller Indices

Miller
indices are commonly use to describe the faces of crystalline materials
A plane intersects x, y and z-coordinates at a, b and c

A point on the plane located at P(x,y,z)
The equation defines the P(x,y,z) is:
(1)
Express Eq. (1) in a different form:
hx + ky + mz = 1 (2)
The Miller Indices

Miller indices involve:
(hkm)= designation of a face, or a plane;
<hkm>= designation of a direction that is perpendicular to the (hkm)
plane
NOTE: In a cubic crystal, such as silicon, a = b = c = 1
The 3 Distinct Planes of a Cubic Crystal
Top face:
Right face: Plane (010)
Front face: Plane (100)
Plane (001)
Diagonal face: Plane (110)
Inclined face: Plane (111)
The 3 Principal Planes of a Silicon Crystal
Characteristics of silicon by principal planes:

The (100) plane contains least number of atoms the weakest plane
easiest to work with
The (110) plane offers the cleanest surfaces in micro fabrications
The (111) plane contains shortest bonds between atoms strongest
plane toughest to work with.
NOTE: The (100) plane makes an angle of 54.74o with the (111) plane
Silicon Compounds
There are 3 principal silicon compounds used in MEMS and

microsystems: Silicon dioxide (SiO2), Silicon carbide (SiC) and
silicon nitride (Si3N4) each has distinct characteristic and unique
applications
Silicon dioxide (SiO2)

It is least expensive material to offer good thermal and electrical
insulation.
Also used a low-cost material for masks in micro fabrication
processes such as etching, deposition and diffusion
Used as sacrificial material in surface micromachining
Above all, it is very easy to produce:
by dry heating of silicon: Si + O2SiO2
or by oxide silicon in wet steam: Si + 2H2O SiO2+ 2H2
Silicon dioxide (SiO2)
Silicon carbide (SiC)

It has a very high melting point and resistance to chemical reactions
make it ideal candidate material for being masks in micro fabrication
processes
It has superior dimensional stability
Silicon nitride (Si3N4)

Produced by chemical reaction:
3SiCl2H2+ 4NH3Si3N4+ 6HCL + 6H2
Used as excellent barrier to diffusion to water and ions
Its ultra strong resistance to oxidation and many etchants make it a
superior material for masks in deep etching
Also used as high strength electric insulators.
Polycrystalline silicon
It is usually called Polysilicon.
It is an aggregation of pure silicon crystals with randomly orientations
deposited on the top of silicon substrates
These polysilicon usually are highly doped silicon.
Being randomly oriented, polysilicon is even stronger than single
silicon crystals.
Silicon Piezo-resistors
Piezo-resistance- a change in electrical resistance of solids when
subjected to stress fields.
Doped silicon are piezo-resistors (p-type or n-type)
Relationship between change of resistance {R}and stresses {}:

{R}= [] {}
Silicon Piezo resistors
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)

GaAs is a compound semiconductor with equal number of Ga and As atoms
Because it is a compound, it is more difficult to process
It is excellent material for monolithic integration of electronic and photonic
devices on a single substrate
The reason for being excellent material for photo-electronics is its high
electron mobility

GaAs is also a good thermal insulator
Low yield strength(only 1/3 of that of silicon)
Quartz
Quartz is a compound of SiO2.
The single-unit cell is in shape of tetrahedron
Quartz crystal is made of up to 6 rings with 6 silicon atoms
Quartz
Quartz is ideal material for sensors because of its extreme dimensional
stability.
It is used as piezoelectric material in many devices.
It is also excellent material for microfluidics systems used in biomedical
applications
It offers excellent electric insulation in microsystems
A major disadvantage is its hard in machining. It is usually etched in
HF/NH4F into desired shapes
Quartz wafers up to 75 mm diameter by 100 m thick are available
commercially
Piezoelectric Crystals
Piezoelectric crystals are solid ceramic compounds that produce
piezoelectric effects
Natural piezoelectric crystals are: quartz, tourmaline and sodium
potassium tartrate.
Synthesized crystals are: Rochelle salt, barium titanate and lead
zirconate.
Polymers
Polymers include: Plastics, adhesives, Plexiglass and Lucite
Currently used in biomedical applications and adhesive bonding
New applications involve using polymers as substrates with electric
conductivity made possible by doping
They are made up of long chains of organic (hydrocarbon) molecules
Polymers as industrial materials

Polymers are popular materials used for many industrial products for the following
advantages
Light weight
Ease in processing
Low cost of raw materials and processes for producing polymers
High corrosion resistance
High electrical resistance
High flexibility in structures
High dimensional stability
Polymers for MEMS and microsystems

Photo-resist polymers are used to produce masks for creating desired
patterns on substrates by photolithography technique
The same photoresist polymers are used to produce the prime mold
with desirable geometry of the MEMS components in a LIGA process
in micro manufacturing.
Conductive polymers are used as organic substrates for MEMS and
microsystems
The ferroelectric polymers that behave like piezoelectric crystals can
be used as the source of actuation in micro devices such as in micro
pumping
Conductive Polymers
Some polymers can be made electrically conductive by the following
3 methods
Conductive Polymers
Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films

The process was first introduced by Langmuir in 1917 and was later
refined by Blodgett.
That was why it is called Langmuir-Blodgett process, or LB films
The process involves the spreading volatile solvent over the surfaceactive substrate materials
The LB process can produce more than one monolayer by depositing
films of various compositions onto a substrate to produce a multilayer
structure
Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films-contd.

LB films are good candidate materials for exhibiting Ferro (iron),
pyro(heat) and piezoelectric properties.
LB films may also be produced with controlled optical properties such
as refractive index and anti reflections
They are thus ideal materials for micro-sensors and opto-electronic
devices

Following are a few examples of LB film applications in microsystems
1. Ferroelectric (magnetic) polymer thin films
.The one in particular is the Poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF)
.Applications of this type of films include:
Sound transducers in air and water
Tactile sensors
Biomedical applications such as tissue compatibility, cardio-pulmonary sensors
and implantable transducers and sensors for prosthetics and rehabilitation devices

2. Coating materials with controllable optical properties
.Broadband optical fibers that transmit light at various wavelengths
3. Micro sensors
.Many electrically conducting polymeric materials are sensitive to the
exposed gas and other environmental conditions. So they are suitable
materials for micro sensors
.Its ability of detecting specific substances relies on the reversible and
specific absorption of species of interest on the surface of the polymer layer
and the subsequent measurable change of conductivity of the polymer
A gas sensor
Electrical conductivity changes with absorption of the exposed gas.
Packaging Materials
Unlike IC packaging in which plastic or ceramic are extensively used as
encapsulate materials for the delicate IC circuits
MEMS packaging involve a great variety of materials-varying from
plastic and polymers to stainless steel, as can be seen in a specially
packaged micro pressure sensor.

Materials For MEMS and Microsystems

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Materials For MEMS and Microsystems

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Materials For MEMS and Microsystems

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Materials for MEMS and

Silicon an ideal substrate material for

1. It is mechanically stable and it is feasible to be integrated into electronics on

Silicon an ideal substrate material for

Pure silicon wafers

100 mm (4) diameter x 500 m thick

Single Silicon Crystal Structure

Note: Total number of atoms: 8 at corners and

Single Silicon Crystal Structure-Contd

Total no. of atoms in a single silicon crystal = 18

The Miller Indices

A plane intersects x, y and z-coordinates at a, b and c

The Miller Indices

The 3 Distinct Planes of a Cubic Crystal

Right face: Plane (010)

Front face: Plane (100)

Diagonal face: Plane (110)

Inclined face: Plane (111)

The 3 Principal Planes of a Silicon Crystal

The 3 Principal Planes of a Silicon Crystal

Characteristics of silicon by principal planes:

The 3 Principal Planes of a Silicon Crystal

There are 3 principal silicon compounds used in MEMS and

Silicon dioxide (SiO2)

Silicon dioxide (SiO2)

Silicon carbide (SiC)

Silicon nitride (Si3N4)

Relationship between change of resistance {R}and stresses {}:

Silicon Piezo resistors

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)

Polymers as industrial materials

Polymers for MEMS and microsystems

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films-contd.

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films-contd.

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films-contd.

You might also like