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Poly-SiGe as Piezoresistive Material

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Poly-SiGe for MEMS-above-CMOS Sensors

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Advanced Microelectronics ((MICROELECTR.,volume 44))

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Abstract

For years monocrystalline silicon has been the dominant material for the fabrication of piezoresistive MEMS sensors thanks to its high gauge factor and excellent mechanical properties. Despite its lower gauge factor, polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) offers several advantages over monocrystalline silicon for sensor applications. In poly-Si piezoresistive pressure sensors, the piezoresistors can be laid out on an insulation layer grown on top of the membrane and are defined by deposition and etch, and not by implantation like in silicon sensors. This avoids time- and temperature-dependant p-n junctions and can be used at operating temperatures up to \(200\,^{\circ }\)C. However, neither silicon nor poly-Si allows monolithic integration of MEMS directly on top of the CMOS. Polycrystalline silicon-germanium (poly-SiGe) is a very promising material for processing MEMS on top of CMOS thanks to its lower deposition temperature as compared to poly-Si. The monolithic integration of the MEMS on top of the electronics can potentially lead to smaller systems, improved performance and reduce packaging and instrumentation costs.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CMOS Systems Department, IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Pilar González Ruiz & Kristin De Meyer

  2. Department of Metallurgy and Material Engineering, KU Leuven, Kapeldreef 75, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Ann Witvrouw

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  1. Pilar González Ruiz
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  2. Kristin De Meyer
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  3. Ann Witvrouw
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Correspondence to Pilar González Ruiz .

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González Ruiz, P., De Meyer, K., Witvrouw, A. (2014). Poly-SiGe as Piezoresistive Material. In: Poly-SiGe for MEMS-above-CMOS Sensors. Springer Series in Advanced Microelectronics, vol 44. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6799-7_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6799-7_2

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