Understanding and Tailoring the Mechanical Properties of LIGA Fabricated Materials

LIGA fabricated materials and components exhibit several processing issues affecting their metallurgical and mechanical properties, potentially limiting their usefulness for MEMS applications. For example, LIGA processing by metal electrodeposition is very sensitive to deposition conditions which causes significant processing lot variations of mechanical and metallurgical properties. Furthermore, the process produces a material with a highly textured lenticular rnicrostructural morphology suggesting an anisotropic material response. Understanding and controlling out-of-plane anisotropy is desirable for LIGA components designed for out-of-plane flexures. Previous work by the current authors focused on results from a miniature servo-hydraulic mechanical test frame constructed for characterizing LIGA materials. Those results demonstrated microstructural and mechanical properties dependencies with plating bath current density in LIGA fabricated nickel (LIGA Ni). This presentation builds on that work and fosters a methodology for controlling the properties of LIGA fabricated materials through processing. New results include measurement of mechanical properties of LIGA fabricated copper (LIGA Cu), out-of-plane and localized mechanical property measurements using compression testing and nanoindentation of LIGA Ni and LIGA Cu

Learning Two-input Linear and Nonlinear Analog Functions with a Simple Chemical System

The current biochemical information processing systems behave in a predetermined manner because all features are defined during the design phase. To make such unconventional computing systems reusable and programmable for biomedical applications, adaptation, learning, and self-modification baaed on external stimuli would be highly desirable. However, so far, it haa been too challenging to implement these in real or simulated chemistries. In this paper we extend the chemical perceptron, a model previously proposed by the authors, to function as an analog instead of a binary system. The new analog asymmetric signal perceptron learns through feedback and supports MichaelisMenten kinetics. The results show that our perceptron is able to learn linear and nonlinear (quadratic) functions of two inputs. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first simulated chemical system capable of doing so. The small number of species and reactions allows for a mapping to an actual wet implementation using DNA-strand displacement or deoxyribozymes. Our results are an important step toward actual biochemical systems that can learn and adapt

Reliability Testing of Polysilicon For MEMs Devices

Mission critical applications of MEMS devices require knowledge of the distribution in their material properties and long-term reliability of the small-scale structures. This project reports on a new testing program at Sandia to quantify the strength distribution using samples that reflect the dimensions of critical MEMS components. The strength of polysilicon fabricated with Sandia's SUMMiT 4-layer process was successfully measured using samples with gage sections 2.5 {micro}m thick by 1.7 {micro}m wide and lengths of 15 and 25 {micro}m. These tensile specimens have a freely moving pivot on one end that anchors the sample to the silicon die and prevents off axis loading during testing. Each sample is loaded in uniaxial tension by pulling laterally with a flat tipped diamond in a computer-controlled Nanoindenter. The stress-strain curve is calculated using the specimen cross section and gage length dimensions verified by measuring against a standard in the SEM. The first 48 samples had a means strength of 2.24 {+-} 0.35 GPa. Fracture strength measurements grouped into three strength levels, which matched three failure modes observed in post mortem examinations. The seven samples in the highest strength group failed in the gage section (strength of 2.77 {+-} 0.04 GPa), the moderate strength group failed at the gage section fillet and the lowest strength group failed at a dimple in the hub. With this technique, multiple tests can be programmed at one time and performed without operator assistance at a rate of 20-30 per day allowing the collection of significant populations of data. Since the new test geometry has been proven, the project is moving to test the distributions seen from real geometric features typical to MEMS such as the effect of gage length, fracture toughness, bonding between layers, etch holes, dimples and shear of gear teeth

Crystallize it before it diffuses Thin film growth of the phosphorus rich semiconductor CuP2

Numerous phosphorus rich metal phosphides containing both P amp; 8722;P bonds and metal amp; 8722;P bonds are known from the solid state chemistry literature. A method to grow these materials in thin film form would be desirable, as thin films are required in many applications and they are an ideal platform for high throughput studies. In addition, the high density and smooth surfaces achievable in thin films are a significant advantage for characterization of transport and optical properties. Despite these benefits, there is hardly any published work on even the simplest binary phosphorus rich phosphide films. Here, we demonstrate growth of single phase CuP2 films by a two step process involving reactive sputtering of amorphous CuP2 x and rapid annealing in an inert atmosphere. At the crystallization temperature, CuP2 is thermodynamically unstable with respect to Cu3P and P4. However, CuP2 can be stabilized if the amorphous precursors are mixed on the atomic scale and are sufficiently close to the desired composition neither too P poor nor too P rich . Fast formation of polycrystalline CuP2, combined with a short annealing time, makes it possible to bypass the diffusion processes responsible for decomposition. We find that thin film CuP2 is a 1.5 eV band gap semiconductor with interesting properties, such as a high optical absorption coefficient above 105 cm amp; 8722;1 , low thermal conductivity 1.1 W K m , and composition insensitive electrical conductivity around 1 S cm . We anticipate that our processing route can be extended to other phosphorus rich phosphides that are still awaiting thin film synthesis and will lead to a more complete understanding of these materials and of their potential application

Amorphous Diamond MEMS and Sensors

This report describes a new microsystems technology for the creation of microsensors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) using stress-free amorphous diamond (aD) films. Stress-free aD is a new material that has mechanical properties close to that of crystalline diamond, and the material is particularly promising for the development of high sensitivity microsensors and rugged and reliable MEMS. Some of the unique properties of aD include the ability to easily tailor film stress from compressive to slightly tensile, hardness and stiffness 80-90% that of crystalline diamond, very high wear resistance, a hydrophobic surface, extreme chemical inertness, chemical compatibility with silicon, controllable electrical conductivity from insulating to conducting, and biocompatibility. A variety of MEMS structures were fabricated from this material and evaluated. These structures included electrostatically-actuated comb drives, micro-tensile test structures, singly- and doubly-clamped beams, and friction and wear test structures. It was found that surface micromachined MEMS could be fabricated in this material easily and that the hydrophobic surface of the film enabled the release of structures without the need for special drying procedures or the use of applied hydrophobic coatings. Measurements using these structures revealed that aD has a Young's modulus of {approx}650 GPa, a tensile fracture strength of 8 GPa, and a fracture toughness of 8 MPa{center_dot}m {sup 1/2}. These results suggest that this material may be suitable in applications where stiction or wear is an issue. Flexural plate wave (FPW) microsensors were also fabricated from aD. These devices use membranes of aD as thin as {approx}100 nm. The performance of the aD FPW sensors was evaluated for the detection of volatile organic compounds using ethyl cellulose as the sensor coating. For comparable membrane thicknesses, the aD sensors showed better performance than silicon nitride based sensors. Greater than one order of magnitude increase in chemical sensitivity is expected through the use of ultra-thin aD membranes in the FPW sensor. The discoveries and development of the aD microsystems technology that were made in this project have led to new research projects in the areas of aD bioMEMS and aD radio frequency MEMS

On the Rapid Assessment of Mechanical Behavior of a Prototype Nickel-Based Superalloy using Small-Scale Testing

An electro-thermal mechanical testing (ETMT) system is used to assess the mechanical behavior of a prototype single-crystal superalloy suitable for industrial gas turbine applications. Miniaturized testpieces of a few mm 2 cross section are used, allowing relatively small volumes to be tested. Novel methods involving temperature ramping and stress relaxation are employed, with the quantitative data measured and then compared to conventional methods. Advantages and limitations of the ETMT system are identified; particularly for the rapid assessment of prototype alloys prior to scale-up to pilot-scale quantities, it is concluded that some significant benefits emerge