Title :
Characterization Method for Mechanical Properties of Thin Freestanding Metal Films for RF-MEMS
Author :
Burg, Vincent ; Den Toonder, Jaap ; Van Dijken, Auke ; Hoefnagels, Johan ; Geers, Marc
Author_Institution :
Philips Res. Labs., Eindhoven
Abstract :
A method for the characterization of mechanical properties of freestanding thin metal film materials used in RF-MEMS is evaluated. Freestanding beam structures are manufactured from a sputtered layer of AlCu(1wt%) on top of a wafer using an industrialized RF-MEMS manufacturing process. The methods of examining micro structure and geometry are studied. It is shown that these methods are promising for extracting the desired information about the material. Simple bending experiments are carried out on micro-scale beams of varying length and thickness using an indenter device. Elastic material properties are extracted from the results, using finite element technology combined with elastic theory, removing the necessity of extensive finite element simulations. It is shown that the beam length and indenter positioning play a crucial role. The obtained results show agreement with expected values for longer beams, but no obvious relation with the film thickness is found within the experimental range addressed
Keywords :
aluminium compounds; bending; elasticity; finite element analysis; micromechanical devices; thin films; AlCu; RF-MEMS manufacturing process; beam length; characterization method; elastic material properties; elastic theory; finite element technology; freestanding beam structures; indenter device; indenter positioning; mechanical properties; microscale beams; thin freestanding metal films; Capacitors; Creep; Data mining; Finite element methods; Inorganic materials; Manufacturing processes; Mechanical factors; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency microelectromechanical systems; Thermal stresses;
Conference_Titel :
Thermal, Mechanical and Multiphysics Simulation and Experiments in Micro-Electronics and Micro-Systems, 2006. EuroSime 2006. 7th International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Como
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-0275-1
DOI :
10.1109/ESIME.2006.1644039