Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) silane-based oxides (SiOx) have been widely used in both microelectronics and MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) to form electrical and/or mechanical components. In this paper, a novel nanoindentation-based microbridge testing method is developed to measure both the residual stresses and Young’s modulus of PECVD SiOx films on silicon wafers. Theoretically, we considered both the substrate deformation and residual stress in the thin film and derived a closed formula of deflection versus load. The formula fitted the experimental curves almost perfectly, from which the residual stresses and Young’s modulus of the film were determined. Experimentally, freestanding microbridges made of PECVD SiOx films were fabricated using the silicon undercut bulk micromachining technique. The results showed that the as-deposited PECVD SiOx films had a residual stress of −155±17 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 74.8±3.3 GPa.

Volume Subject Area:
Microelectromechanical Systems
Topics:
Microelectromechanical systems, Nanoindentation, Testing, Thin films, Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, Stress, Young's modulus, Residual stresses, Deflection, Deformation, Microelectronic devices, Micromachining, Plasmas (Ionized gases), Semiconductor wafers, Silicon, Vapors
1.
M. Gad-el-Hak, The MEMS Handbook. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2002)
2.
M. Madou, Fundamentals of Microfabricution: The Science of Miniaturization, 2nd ed. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2002).
3.
M. Ohring, The Material Science of Thin Films (Academic Press, New York, 1992).
4.
L. B. Freund and S. Suresh, Thin Film Materials: Stress, Defect Formation and Surface Evolution. (Cambridge University Press, New York, 2004)
5.
Oliver
W. C.
and
Pharr
G. M.
,
J. Mater. Res.
,
7
,
01564
01564
(
1992
)
6.
Taylor
J. A.
,
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A
9
,
2464
2464
(
1991
)
7.
Vlassak
J. J.
,
Drory
M. D.
, and
Nix
W. D.
,
J. Mater. Res.
,
12
,
1900
1900
(
1997
).
8.
Baker
S. P.
and
Nix
W. D.
,
J. of Mater. Res.
,
9
,
3131
3131
(
1994
)
9.
De Boer
M. P.
and
Gerberich
W. W.
,
Acta. Mater.
,
44
,
3177
3177
(
1996
)
10.
Zhang
T.-Y.
,
Chen
L. Q.
and
Fu
R.
,
Acta Mater.
47
,
3869
3869
(
1999
).
11.
Kucheyev
S. O.
,
Bradby
J. E.
, and
Williams
J. S.
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
,
77
,
3373
3373
(
2000
).
12.
Zhang
T. Y.
and
Xu
W. H.
,
J. of Mater. Res.
,
17
,
1715
1715
(
2002
).
13.
Mearini
G. T.
, and
Hoffman
R. W.
,
J. Electronic Mater.
,
22
,
623
623
(
1993
)
14.
Brotzen
F. R.
,
Int. Mater. Rev.
,
39
,
24
24
(
1994
).
15.
Weihs
T. P.
,
Hong
S.
,
Bravman
J. C
, and
Nix
W. D.
,
J. Mater. Res.
,
3
,
931
931
(
1988
)
16.
Najafi
K.
and
Suzuki
K.
,
Thin Solid Films
,
181
,
251
251
(
1989
)
17.
Pharr
G. M.
and
Oliver
W. C.
,
MRS Bull.
,
XVII
,
28
28
(
1992
).
18.
Schweitz
J.
.
MRS Bull.
,
XVII
,
34
34
(
1992
).
19.
A. L. Shull and F. J Spaepen, 80, 6243 (1996)
20.
Vlassak
J. J.
, and
Nix
W. D.
,
J. Mater. Res.
,
7
,
3242
3242
(
1992
).
21.
Vinci
R. P.
, and
Vlassak
J. J.
,
A. Rev. Solid St. Mater. Sci.
,
14
,
225
225
(
1996
)
22.
Ziebart
V.
,
Paul
O.
,
Munch
U.
,
Schwizer
J.
, and
Baltes
H.
,
J. Microelectromech. Syst.
,
7
,
320
320
(
1998
)
23.
Sharpe
W. N.
,
Yuan
B.
, and
Edwards
R. L.
,
J. Microelectromech. Syst.
,
6
,
193
193
(
1997
)
24.
Espinosa
H. D.
,
Prorok
B. C.
,
Fischer
M.
,
J. Mech. Phys. Solids.
51
,
47
47
(
2003
)
25.
Xu
W. H.
,
Lu
D. X.
, and
Zhang
T. Y.
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
,
79
,
4112
4112
(
2001
)
26.
Hernandez
C. M.
,
Murray
T. W.
, and
Krishnaswamy
S.
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
,
80
,
691
691
(
2002
)
27.
Zhang
T.-Y.
,
Su
Y.-J.
,
Qian
C.-F
,
Zhao
M.-H.
, and
Chen
L.-Q
,
Acta Mater.
48
,
2843
2843
(
2000
).
28.
Su
Y.-J.
,
Qian
C.-F.
,
Zhao
M.-H.
, and
Zhang
T.-Y.
,
Acta Mater.
48
,
4901
4901
(
2000
).
29.
Xu
W.-H.
and
Zhang
T.-Y.
,
Appl. Phys. Lett.
83
,
1731
1731
(
2003
).
30.
Moldovan
C.
,
Kim
B.-H.
,
Raible
S.
, and
Moagar
V.
,
Thin Solid Films
,
383
,
321
321
(
2000
).
31.
Matsuura
T.
,
Taguchi
M.
,
Kawata
K.
, and
Tsutsumi
T.
,
Sens. Actua. A
60
,
197
197
(
1997
).
32.
Cao
Z.
and
Zhang
X.
,
J. Appl. Phys.
,
96
,
4273
4273
(
2004
).
33.
Thurn
J.
and
Cook
R. F.
,
J. Appl. Phys.
,
91
,
1988
1988
(
2002
) and the references therein.
34.
S. Timoshenko and S. Wolnowsky-Krieger, Theory of Plates and Shells, 2nd ed. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1959).
35.
S. Timoshenko and J. Gere, Theory of Elastic Stability, 2nd ed (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1961).
36.
Fang
W.
,
Lee
C.-H.
, and
Hu
H.-H.
,
J. Micromech. Microeng.
,
9
,
236
236
(
1999
)
37.
Merlos
A
,
Acero
M. C.
,
Bao
M. H.
,
Bausells
J.
, and
Esteve
J.
,
J. Micromech. Microeng.
,
2
,
181
181
(
1992
).
38.
Chang
S.-C.
, and
Hicks
D. B.
,
J. Micromech. Microeng.
,
1
,
25
25
(
1990
).
39.
Fang
W.
,
J. Micromech. Microeng.
,
8
,
263
263
(
1998
).
This content is only available via PDF.
Copyright © 2005
 by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.