A study for the residual strain of aluminum thin film for MEMS structures

MEMS용 구조물을 위한 알루미늄 박막의 잔류응력에 대한 연구

Freestanding flexible microstructures fabricated from deposited thin films become mechanically unstable when internal stresses exceed critical values. The residual stress and stress gradient of aluminum thin film were examined to make sure of fabricating the reproduceable aluminium structure. For good shape of micro mirror array and microstructures, the experiment was done varying thickness and deposition rate. As the aluminium film thickness increased from 0.8${\mu}m$ to 1.6${\mu}m$, the stress gradient decreased from 11.62MPa/${\mu}m$ to 2.62MPa/${\mu}m$. The residual stress values are from 42.4MPa to 62.24MPa of tensile stresses.