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Hard Quasiamorphous Carbon - A Prospective Construction Material for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Benjamin F. Dorfman,
P. Asoka-Kumar,
Fred H. Pollak,
J. Z. Wan and
Qing Zhu
Benjamin F. Dorfman
Affiliation:
Atomic-Scale Design, Inc., P.O. Box 152, Stony Brook, N.Y., 11790. BDorfman@aol.com
P. Asoka-Kumar
Affiliation:
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Physics Department, Upton, N.Y., 11973
Fred H. Pollak
Affiliation:
Phys. Dep. and NY State Center for Adv.Techn. in Ultrafast Photonic Materials and Applications, Brooklyn College of CUNY, Brooklyn, NY 11210
J. Z. Wan
Affiliation:
Phys. Dep. and NY State Center for Adv.Techn. in Ultrafast Photonic Materials and Applications, Brooklyn College of CUNY, Brooklyn, NY 11210
Qing Zhu
Affiliation:
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Physics Department, Upton, N.Y., 11973
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Abstract

A new form of sp3/sp2 carbon has been fabricated which exhibits a large number of valuable properties. This material combines low density (≤1.65 g/cm3), low stress (≤0,05 GPa), low thermal expansion (1.6×10−6 K−1) with high hardness (˜ 30 GPa), modulus (˜ 200 GPa), cracking threshold (≥ 3 N), fracture toughness (≥ 10 MPa-m1/2), long-term thermal stability (≥ 450°C in air and ≥ 600°C without oxygen), extremely high thermal shock resistance, excellent interface and adhesion to silicon, metals, and ceramics and an absolute resistance to the silicon etching acids. Most of its properties are actually constant up to 700K. The material combines a basically amorphous structure with one-axis anisotropy and a graphite-like layered arrangement with a length scale of the modulation about 14Å. We refer to this quasi-amorphous material as QUASAM. This paper describes QUASAM synthesis conditions, growth front planarity and material characterization with high-resolution x-ray diffraction, positron annihilation spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy. In addition the mechanical and thermal examination of QUASAM and QUASAM/Si will be presnted in terms of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and the technology prospective requirements of MEMS.

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