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Size and Frequency of Defects in Silicon MEMS

Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA, Department of Surgical Research, Children's Hospital of Boston, Boston, MA 02115, USA

B. L. Boyce

Microsystem Materials, Tribology and Technologies Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0889, USA

T. E. Buchheit

Microsystem Materials, Tribology and Technologies Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-0889, USA

Mechanical testing of thin films for MEMS has progressed from a developmental stage to a point where validated techniques are used to study the behavior of devices and materials at a very fine scale. Tensile data covering a range of sizes and test techniques have been analyzed to examine the distribution of defects that would be responsible for the observed fracture strengths. For each sample, a critical defect size was calculated based on a published fracture toughness and a half-circular surface crack fracture toughness model. For polysilicon produced using the SUMMiT V process in the period 1998-1999, the calculated mean defect size was 115 nm. For polysilicon produced using the MUMPS process, the calculated mean defect size was 389 nm.

Key Words: silicon • polysilicon • defects • fracture • failure • prediction • mechanical • testing • thin film • notch

International Journal of Damage Mechanics, Vol. 12, No. 4, 357-363 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/105678903036226


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