Thermo- and Electromechanical Behavior of Thin-Film Micro and Nanostructures

Reference work entry

Abstract

Applications using thin-film micro- and nanomechanical structures for actuation and sensing require the coupling of energy between various physical domains. This chapter focuses on two important couplings: thermomechanics and electromechanics. Thermomechanical phenomena is considered in Sect. 54.1, where we describe broad aspects of the deformation characteristics and stress states that arise when dealing with a large class of thin-film microstructures. These include the origin of stresses in multilayer films and their qualitative evolution through processing and release from the substrate. A basic framework is described for the analysis of the thermomechanics of multilayer films, emphasizing the linear response. Issues of geometric and material nonlinearity are then taken up, and equal emphasis is put on the generality of the analysis approach and specific applications. As much as possible, we show comparisons between theoretical predictions and companion experimental results.

A common use of electromechanics in microsystems involves the application of an electric potential between two electrodes where one is fixed and the other is connected to a deformable elastic structure. The electric potential produces an electric field and an associated electrostatic force that deforms the structure, and in turn alters the electrostatic force, resulting in fully-coupled nonlinear behavior. At some point an instability can occur where the deformable structure snaps into contact with the fixed electrode. This phenomena, called pull-in, is often used for switching applications. In Sect. 54.2 we describe the basic electromechanical phenomena using a parallel-plate electrostatic actuator as a reference. We discuss many important phenomena including pull-in, external forcing, stabilization, time response, the effects of dielectric charging, and breakdown of gases in small gaps. We address these phenomena for a wide range of micromechanical structures including cantilevered beams and plates, torsionally suspended plates, and zipper actuators with curved electrodes.

Keywords

Cantilever Beam Breakdown Voltage Multilayer Film Transformation Strain Electrostatic Actuator 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Abbreviations

AC

alternating current

BE

boundary element

CD

compact disc

CD

critical dimension

DC

direct current

ESD

electrostatic discharge

FD

finite difference

FE

finite element

FEM

finite element modeling

HF

hydrofluoric acid

MEMS

microelectromechanical system

OTS

octadecyltrichlorosilane

RF

radio-frequency

RH

relative humidity

SAM

scanning acoustic microscopy

SAM

self-assembled monolayer

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2007

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Colorado at BoulderBoulderUSA
  2. 2.Colorado Springs Design CenterWiSpry, Inc.Colorado SpringsUSA

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