Abstract
The measurement and characterization of reactive sputtered aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films is presented and evaluated as a potential solution for high temperature sensing applications based on its pyroelectric response (PR). This paper provides the PR obtained for our sputtered thin films along with an in-depth film evaluation using X-ray Diffraction, X-ray Photon Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to assess the films crystalline orientation and material composition while evaluating surface coatings for maximum infrared absorption. We observed an ~5× PR increase in the polycrystalline AlN films when compared to epitaxial monocrystalline AlN films. A design of experiments was used to help identify the key parameters which play vital roles in obtaining high PR films. Lastly, several MEMS based array concepts are presented for future testing and characterization.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the AFRL Sensors Directorate for providing the necessary funding to complete this work. The authors wish to thank Dr. Bruce Claflin for XPS testing, Dr. Beth Moore and Mr. John Hoelscher for Raman testing and characterization, and Mr. Doug McFarland for preparing the test structures.
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Starman, L.A., Vasilyev, V.S., Holbrook, C.M., Goldsmith, J.H. (2015). Pyroelectric AlN Thin Films Used as a MEMS IR Sensing Material. In: Prorok, B., Starman, L., Hay, J., Shaw, III, G. (eds) MEMS and Nanotechnology, Volume 8. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07004-9_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07004-9_7
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