Simulation, fabrication, and testing of aluminium nitride piezoelectric microbridges

J. Olivares; M. Clement; E. Iborra; L. Vergara; J. L. Sanchez-Rojas; J. Vazquez; P. Sanz

doi:10.1117/12.608228

1 July 2005 Simulation, fabrication, and testing of aluminium nitride piezoelectric microbridges

J. Olivares, M. Clement, E. Iborra, L. Vergara, J. L. Sanchez-Rojas, J. Vazquez, P. Sanz

Proceedings Volume 5836, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS II; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.608228
Event: Microtechnologies for the New Millennium 2005, 2005, Sevilla, Spain

Abstract

Aluminum nitride is lately being considered as a promising candidate for its use as the actuator in piezoelectrically-actuated MEMS due to its good piezoelectric and mechanical properties, high chemical stability and full compatibility with conventional silicon technologies. In this work we present the mechanical response of doubly-clamped microbridges with piezoelectric actuation by a sputtered AlN film. A complete technology for the fabrication of the microbridges on silicon substrates using surface micromachining has been developed. The mechanical response of the microbridges under electrical excitation has been measured. Finite element method (FEM) computations have been carried out in order to analyze the static and dynamic response of devices with several configurations and to determine their optimum design. These simulations include the influence of the properties of the materials, the initial residual stress and the different geometries on the device operation. Although the qualitative behavior of the microbridges is well predicted, a significant discrepancy is observed between the measured displacement of the beam and the simulated response. The measured values of the out-of-plane displacement of the bridge are near ten times greater than those obtained in the simulations. Some of the possible causes of these discrepancies are widely discussed.

Citation Download Citation

J. Olivares, M. Clement, E. Iborra, L. Vergara, J. L. Sanchez-Rojas, J. Vazquez, and P. Sanz "Simulation, fabrication, and testing of aluminium nitride piezoelectric microbridges", Proc. SPIE 5836, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS II, (1 July 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.608228

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