Development of a low temperature amorphous Si/Ti for integrated MEMS/NEMS

Abstract

Co-sputtering techniques are used to deposit amorphous Si/Ti (a-Si/Ti) composite materials at room temperaturewith a view to enabling post-CMOS fabrication of MEMS/NEMS. Electrical and mechanical propertiesof a-Si/Ti are characterised and analysed, benchmarking those of polycrystalline Si (poly-Si)commonly used for MEMS/NEMS. The surface micromachining feasibility of a-Si/Ti is preliminarily investigatedusing a commonly available Si dry etching process. The promising material and process developmentsuggests that a-Si/Ti composites can potentially be exploited as MEMS/NEMS structural materialswith desirable post-CMOS process compatibility, leading to monolithic integration of MEMS/NEMS andICs