New insights into reliability of electrostatic capacitive RF MEMS switches - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies Année : 2011

New insights into reliability of electrostatic capacitive RF MEMS switches

Résumé

Among other reliability concerns, the dielectric charging is considered the major failure mechanism which hinders the commercialization of electrostatic capacitive radio frequency micro-electro-mechanical systems (RF MEMS) switches. In this study, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) surface potential measurements have been employed to study this phenomenon. Several novel KPFM-based characterization methods have been proposed to investigate the charging in bare dielectric films, metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors, and MEMS switches, and the results from these methods have been correlated. The used dielectric material is plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon nitride. The SiNx films have been charged by using a biased atomic force microscope (AFM) tip or by electrically stressing MIM capacitors and MEMS switches. The influence of several parameters on the dielectric charging has been studied: dielectric film thickness, deposition conditions, and under layers. Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) material characterization techniques have been used to determine the chemical bonds and compositions, respectively, of the SiNx films. The data from the physical material characterization have been correlated to the KPFM results. The study provides an accurate understanding of the charging/discharging processes in dielectric films implemented in electrostatic MEMS devices.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
New_insight_into_reliability_of_electrostatic_capacitive_RF_MEMS_switches.pdf (611 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte
Loading...

Dates et versions

hal-00795987 , version 1 (01-03-2013)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-00795987 , version 1

Citer

Heiba Usama Zaghloul, George Papaioannou, Bharat Bhushan, Fabio Coccetti, Patrick Pons, et al.. New insights into reliability of electrostatic capacitive RF MEMS switches. International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies, 2011, 3 (5), pp.571-586. ⟨hal-00795987⟩
146 Consultations
320 Téléchargements

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More