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MEMS Microresonators Based on Nanocrystalline Silicon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

J. Gaspar
Affiliation:
INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisbon, Portugal Dept. Materials Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
T. Adrega
Affiliation:
INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisbon, Portugal Dept. Materials Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
V. Chu
Affiliation:
INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisbon, Portugal
J. P. Conde
Affiliation:
INESC Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000-029 Lisbon, Portugal Dept. Materials Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
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Abstract

This paper describes the fabrication and characterization of thin-film nanocrystalline silicon microresonators processed at temperatures below 110°C on glass substrates. The microelectromechanical structures consist of surface micromachined bridges of boron-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (p+-nc-Si:H) deposited at 100°C by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). The microbridges, which are suspended over an Al gate electrode, are electrostatically actuated and the mechanical resonance is detected in vacuum using an optical setup. The resonance frequency and energy dissipation in p+-nc-Si:H based resonators are studied as a function of the geometrical dimensions of the microstructures. Resonance frequencies between 700 kHz and 36 MHz and quality factors as high as 2000 are observed. A Young's modulus of 160 GPa for the structural bridge film is extracted from the experimental data using an electromechanical model and the main intrinsic energy dissipation mechanisms in nc-Si:H microresonators are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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References

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