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Fracture Behavior of Thin Film PZT on Silicon Mems and Membranes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2011

A. L. Olson ,
J. L. Skinner ,
D. F. Bahr ,
C. D. Richards  and
R. F. Richards
A. L. Olson
Affiliation:
Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
J. L. Skinner
Affiliation:
Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
D. F. Bahr
Affiliation:
Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
C. D. Richards
Affiliation:
Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
R. F. Richards
Affiliation:
Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
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Abstract

This research focuses on identifying the fracture mechanism in thin film silicon membranes and PZT on silicon composite structures under static and dynamic loading conditions. Square silicon membranes with a 3mm side-length and thickness between 1.5 and 3.0μm, with and without 1.5μm of PZT, were pressurized to failure while laser interferometry was used to determine the maximum strain at failure. The strain at fracture of silicon membranes, initiating from the sharp corner radius inside the micromachined cavity, was improved from 0.37% to 0.8% by an isotropic etch of the sharp corner. Fracture of PZT on silicon membranes, tested at the mechanical resonant frequency suggested that fracture initiates in the blanket PZT layers under reversed bending. Etching the PZT from high strain regions along the membrane surface improved the strain at failure of the composite device by 40%.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 750: Symposium Y – Surface Engineering 2002–Synthesis, Characterization and Applications , 2002 , Y8.27
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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References

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