ABSTRACT

The present work focuses on the preparation and characterization of Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Aluminum Nitride (AlN) films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) application using their respective ceramic targets. SiC and AlN films were selected respectively as structural and piezoelectric materials. Sputtered SiC films have been reported for application as protective coatings but their application as structural material has not been investigated in significant manner. In the present work, we aim to produce low stress SiC films with high Youngs modulus (E) and Hardness (H) values for structural material in MEMS. Such SiC films could also be useful for high frequency resonating MEMS. The objective of the present work is to prepare SiC films by RF sputtering, preferably without external substrate heating. This is considered important, if the MEMS are to be realized on low-cost substrates such as glass. The residual stress was measured using wafer curvature technique. The sputtering process was optimized for obtaining a low stress SiC films. The structural and mechanical properties of these films were investigated. For this purpose, characterizations tools such as: XRD, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and nanoindentation techniques are used. The chemical inertness of low stress SiC films in buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF), KOH / tetra-methyl-ammonium hydroxide (TMAH), was investigated and it was observed that the films were stable in these solutions for prolonged exposure. To demonstrate the feasibility of sputter deposited SiC films for MEMS, suspended microstructures such as cantilever beams, diaphragms, and bridges were fabricated using Si bulk micromachining process. iii

For the AlN films, the objective was defined to prepare c-axis oriented AlN films without external substrate heating by RF magnetron sputtering. FTIR was used to study the Al-N bonds in the films. The films were characterized by XRD and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) to investigate the preferred orientation. AlN films with preferred (002) orientation were prepared on a variety of substrates by RF magnetron sputtering using ceramic target. The c-axis orientation in the films is achieved without external substrate heating when sputtering was carried out in Ar-N2 (1:1) ambient. For applications as piezoelectric material in MEMS and other acoustic devices, these films are required to be deposited on metal electrode. Therefore we investigated the effect of various metal films such as: Al, Cr, Au-Cr on preferred orientation of AlN films. The quality of c-axis oriented AlN films prepared by this method was investigated for a chosen set of sputtering parameters using techniques such as UVVIS spectroscopy, PL (photoluminescence) spectroscopy, and SIMS (secondary ion mass spectroscopy). The electrical resistivity of AlN films was found in the range of 1011 -1012 -cm for moderate fields (~50 kV/cm). Such high resistivity of these films is essential for the application of AlN as a piezoelectric material. A prototype film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) device was fabricated to demonstrate that the films are suitable for acoustic / piezoelectric MEMS. The thesis concludes by suggesting the scope of further research in this area.

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