SEDL / STP / STP1413-EB / STP10990S



Mechanical Tests of Free-Standing Aluminum Microbeams for MEMS Application

Zhang, P
Ph.D. candidate, Stanford University, Stanford,CA

Lee, H-J
Member of technical staff, Lucent Technologies, Inc., Reading,PA

Bravman, JC
Professor, Stanford University, Stanford,CA


Pages: 11    Published: Jan 2001


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Source: STP1413-EB


Abstract

We studied mechanical properties and alloy effects of free-standing aluminum microbeams (50 × 500 × 2 μm) in a piezo-actuator-driven test apparatus with a load resolution of ±0.2 mN and a displacement resolution of ±10 nm. Pure Al and Al-2%Ti microbeams were fabricated using micromachining techniques. In tensile tests, we found the yield strength to be approximately 120 MPa for the pure Al beams, and approximately 75% higher for the alloyed beams. We examined the results with respect to those of bulk materials and thin films adhered to substrates. In stress relaxation tests, we observed a load drop of 56% over 10 min for the pure Al beams. We attributed this to grain boundary sliding and the nature of a free-standing thin film, i.e., the absence of a substrate. For the alloyed beams, the load drop was only 16%. We believed the difference was due to Al3Ti precipitates formed at grain boundaries, which hindered dislocation movements. We used TEM to reveal the microstructural features of the microbeams.


Keywords:
micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), micromachining, thin film, substrate, piezo-acruator, yield strength, alloy, stress relaxation, grain boundary

Paper ID: STP10990S
Committee/Subcommittee: E08.01
DOI: 10.1520/STP10990S
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