Reliability of MEMS Materials: Mechanical Characterization of Thin-Films using the Wafer Scale Bulge Test and Improved Microtensile Techniques

Abstract

AbstractThis paper reports on recent improvements of the bulge and microtensile techniques for the reliable extraction of material parameters such as the Young's modulus E, Poisson's ratio ν, plane strain modulusEps=E/(1–ν2), prestress σ0, fracture strength μ, Weibull modulusmand strain hardening coefficientsn, and on the direct comparison between the two methods. The bulge technique is extended to full wafer measurements enabling throughputs of data with statistical relevance whereas key improvements of a previous fabrication process of microtensile specimens lead now to much higher yields, approaching 100%. Both techniques are applied to an extensive set of materials, brittle and ductile, typically used in MEMS applications. These include thin films of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, polycrystalline silicon and aluminum deposited by techniques such as thermal oxidation, LPCVD, PECVD and PVD.