Abstract
Magnetoelectric sensors provide the ability to measure magnetic fields down to the pico tesla range and are currently the subject of intense research. Such sensors usually combine a piezoelectric and a magnetostrictive material, so that magnetically induced stresses can be measured electrically. Scandium aluminium nitride gained a lot of attraction in the last few years due to its enhanced piezoelectric properties. Its usage as resonantly driven microelectromechanical system (MEMS) in such sensors is accompanied by a manifold of influences from crystal growth leading to impacts on the electrical and mechanical parameters. Usual investigations via nanoindentation allow a fast determination of mechanical properties with the disadvantage of lacking the access to the anisotropy of specific properties. Such anisotropy effects are investigated in this work in terms of the Young’s modulus and the strain on basis of a MEMS structures through a newly developed fully automated procedure of eigenfrequency fitting based on a new non-Lorentzian fit function and subsequent analysis using an extended Euler–Bernoulli theory. The introduced procedure is able to increase the resolution of the derived parameters compared to the common nanoindentation technique and hence allows detailed investigations of the behavior of magnetoelectric sensors, especially of the magnetic field dependent Young‘s modulus of the magnetostrictive layer.
Highlights
For many applications of miniaturized microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), aluminum nitride (AlN) has become a standard material [1,2]
Typical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) application can be found in the field of radio frequency (RF)
With strong c-axis orientation, which can be seen in their own X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements
Summary
For many applications of miniaturized MEMS, aluminum nitride (AlN) has become a standard material [1,2]. The magnetostrictive material decreases its Young’s modulus by up to 30 %, depending on the intensity of the magnetic field [18] We propose a model that accommodates for eigenfrequencies but the vibrational behavior in a broader sense: a complex fit to the FFT (fast Fourier transform) of the beam vibration This way, all measured harmonics are included as well as the shape of their peaks. A multi parameter problem arises due to many degrees of freedom in materials and geometric design This creates potential for optimization where two targets are important: high sensitivity to the magnetic field and big amplitude of the output signal. We present a fast and precise algorithm with explicit equations and without the need of time-consuming finite element calculations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
