• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.361.1-361.1
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• 2016

Due to their high sensitivity, fast response, small energy consumption and ease of integration, nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have attracted much interest in various applications such as high speed memory devices, energy harvesting devices, frequency tunable RF receivers, and ultra sensitive mass sensors. Since the device performance of NEMS is closely related with the mechanical and flexural properties of the material in NEMS, analysis of the mechanical and flexural properties such as intrinsic tensile stress and Young's modulus is a crucial factor for designing the NEMS structures. In the present work, the intrinsic mechanical properties of highly stressed silicon nitride (SiN) beams are investigated as a function of the beam length using two different techniques: (i) dynamic flexural measurement using optical interferometry and (ii) quasi-static flexural measurement using atomic force microscopy. The reliability of the results is analysed by comparing the results from the two different measurement techniques. In addition, the mass density, Young's modulus and internal stress of the SiN beams are estimated by combining the techniques, and the prospect of SiN based NEMS for application in high sensitive mass sensors is discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2009

There has been a rapid progress for flexible polymer-based MEMS(Microelectromechanical Systems) technology. Polycarbonate (PC) and Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA), so-called acrylic, have many advantages for optical, non-toxic and micro-device application. We studied dry etching of PC and PMMA as a function of % gas ratio in the $O_2/SF_6/CH_4$ temary plasma. A photoresist pattern was defined on the polymer samples with a mask using a conventional lithography. Plasma etching was done at 100 W RIE chuck power and 10 sccm total gas flow rate. The etch rates of PMMA were typically 2 times higher than those of PC in the whole experimental range. The result would be related to higher melting point of PC compared to that of PMMA. The highest etch rates of PMMA and PC were found in the $O_2/SF_6$ discharges among $O_2/SF_6$, $O_2/CH_4$ and $SF_6/CH_4$ and $O_2/SF_6/CH_4$ plasma composition (PC: ${\sim}350\;nm/min$ at 5 sccm $O_2/5$ sccm $SF_6$, PMMA: ${\sim}570\;nm/min$ at 2.5 sccm $O_2/7.5$ sccm $SF_6$). PC has smoother surface morphology than PMMA after etching in the $O_2/SF_6/CH_4$ discharges. The surface roughness of PC was in the range of 1.9$\sim$3.88 nm. However, that of PMMA was 17.3$\sim$26.1 nm.