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Microbridge Nanoindentation Testing of Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited Silicon Oxide Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Zhiqiang Cao ,
Tong-Yi Zhang  and
Xin Zhang
Zhiqiang Cao
Affiliation:
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Tong-Yi Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
Xin Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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Abstract

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. Our theoretical model employed a closed formula of deflection vs. load, considering both substrate deformation and the residual stresses in the thin films. In particular, the non-negligible residual deflection caused by excessive compressive stresses was taken into account. Freestanding microbridges made of PECVD SiOx films were fabricated using bulk micromachining techniques. To simulate the thermal processing in device fabrication, these microbridges were subjected to rapid thermal annealing (RTA) up to 800°C. A microstructure-based mechanism was applied to explain the experimental results of the residual stress changes in PECVD SiOx films after thermal annealing.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 841: Symposium R – Fundamentals of Nanoindentation and Nanotribology III , 2004 , R12.4
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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