Title :
Stress and strain gradient control of polycrystalline SiC films
Author :
Fu, X.A. ; Dunning, J. ; Zorman, C.A. ; Mehregany, M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH, USA
Abstract :
This work reports the development of very low residual stress and low strain gradient polycrystalline SiC (poly-SiC) thin films deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). Using dichlorosilane (DCS, SiH2Cl2) and acetylene (C2H2) as precursors, it was found that the flow rate of DCS can be used to adjust the residual stress from tensile to compressive in as-deposited films. The resulting poly-SiC films, with tensile stresses lower than 50 MPa and strain gradients as low as 1.3times10-4 mum-1, are well-suited for MEMS and NEMS structural materials.
Keywords :
chemical vapour deposition; compressive strength; internal stresses; micromechanical devices; nanoelectromechanical devices; semiconductor thin films; silicon compounds; tensile strength; wide band gap semiconductors; LPCVD; MEMS structural materials; NEMS structural materials; SiC; acetylene precursors; compressive stress; dichlorosilane precursors; low pressure chemical vapor deposition; polycrystalline thin films; residual stress; strain gradient control; stress gradient control; tensile stress; Capacitive sensors; Chemical vapor deposition; Distributed control; Residual stresses; Silicon carbide; Sputtering; Strain control; Stress control; Tensile strain; Tensile stress; LPCVD; Silicon carbide; poly-SiC; residual stress; strain gradient;
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference, 2009. TRANSDUCERS 2009. International
Conference_Location :
Denver, CO
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4190-7
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4193-8
DOI :
10.1109/SENSOR.2009.5285948
