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Polycrystalline Silicon Films for Microelectromechanical Devices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

H. Kahn,
S. Stemmer,
R. L. Mullen,
M. A. Huff and
A. H. Heuer
H. Kahn
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
S. Stemmer
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
R. L. Mullen
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering
M. A. Huff
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
A. H. Heuer
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
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Abstract

Polycrystalline silicon is the most widely used structural material for surface micromachined microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). There are many advantages to using thick polysilicon films; however, due to process equipment limitations, these devices are typically fabricated from polysilicon films less than 3 μm thick. In this work, microelectromechanical test structures were designed and processed from thick (up to 10 μm) in situ boron-doped polysilicon films. The elastic modulus of these films was about 150 GPa, independent of film thickness. The thermal oxidation of the polysilicon induced a compressive stress into the top surface of the films, which was detected as a residual stress in the polysilicon after the device fabrication was complete.

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