Abstract
Silicon dioxide and silicon nitride coatings are preferably used as dielectric layers for short-circuit protection in capacitive silicon MEMS based Grating Light Modulator (GLM). However, their tendency to electrostatic charging can diminish the device reliability. The influence of dielectric charges on GLM was discussed. Gas discharges and charges in the air gap of silicon cantilever GLM have been modeled and observed, resulting in surface charge accumulation on the electrode passivation of the devices. The impact of parasitic surface charges on the deflection versus voltage characteristics of bulk micromachined silicon cantilever GLM is investigated and measurements of the charge decay are shown in experimental results. Experimental results agree with the theoretical calculation well, which illustrates the influence of charging and discharging processing. One method is proposed to reduce the influence of dielectric charges.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the staff of the Center of Microsystems at the Chongqing University and No. 24 Research Institute of CETC for the fabrication of the micromechanical elements. The work is funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 60708017), and Academician Fund of Chongqing Municipal, China (CSTC,2008BC3002).
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Zhang, J., Sun, J.Y., Zhang, Z.H. et al. Effects of dielectric charging on MEMS-based grating light modulator. Microsyst Technol 15, 745–751 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-009-0784-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-009-0784-7