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Title: Predicting fracture in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon MEMS structures.

Abstract

Designing reliable MEMS structures presents numerous challenges. Polycrystalline silicon fractures in a brittle manner with considerable variability in measured strength. Furthermore, it is not clear how to use a measured tensile strength distribution to predict the strength of a complex MEMS structure. To address such issues, two recently developed high throughput MEMS tensile test techniques have been used to measure strength distribution tails. The measured tensile strength distributions enable the definition of a threshold strength as well as an inferred maximum flaw size. The nature of strength-controlling flaws has been identified and sources of the observed variation in strength investigated. A double edge-notched specimen geometry was also tested to study the effect of a severe, micron-scale stress concentration on the measured strength distribution. Strength-based, Weibull-based, and fracture mechanics-based failure analyses were performed and compared with the experimental results.

Authors:
 [1];  [1]; ; ;
  1. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
990954
Report Number(s):
SAND2010-6701
TRN: US201021%%7
DOE Contract Number:  
AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING; CRACKS; MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS; SILICON; TENSILE PROPERTIES; FAILURE MODE ANALYSIS; Polycrystalline; Microelectromechanical systems-Reliability.

Citation Formats

Hazra, Siddharth S, de Boer, Maarten Pieter, Boyce, Brad Lee, Ohlhausen, James Anthony, Foulk, III, James W, and Reedy, Earl David, Jr. Predicting fracture in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon MEMS structures.. United States: N. p., 2010. Web. doi:10.2172/990954.
Hazra, Siddharth S, de Boer, Maarten Pieter, Boyce, Brad Lee, Ohlhausen, James Anthony, Foulk, III, James W, & Reedy, Earl David, Jr. Predicting fracture in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon MEMS structures.. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/990954
Hazra, Siddharth S, de Boer, Maarten Pieter, Boyce, Brad Lee, Ohlhausen, James Anthony, Foulk, III, James W, and Reedy, Earl David, Jr. 2010. "Predicting fracture in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon MEMS structures.". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/990954. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/990954.
@article{osti_990954,
title = {Predicting fracture in micron-scale polycrystalline silicon MEMS structures.},
author = {Hazra, Siddharth S and de Boer, Maarten Pieter and Boyce, Brad Lee and Ohlhausen, James Anthony and Foulk, III, James W and Reedy, Earl David, Jr.},
abstractNote = {Designing reliable MEMS structures presents numerous challenges. Polycrystalline silicon fractures in a brittle manner with considerable variability in measured strength. Furthermore, it is not clear how to use a measured tensile strength distribution to predict the strength of a complex MEMS structure. To address such issues, two recently developed high throughput MEMS tensile test techniques have been used to measure strength distribution tails. The measured tensile strength distributions enable the definition of a threshold strength as well as an inferred maximum flaw size. The nature of strength-controlling flaws has been identified and sources of the observed variation in strength investigated. A double edge-notched specimen geometry was also tested to study the effect of a severe, micron-scale stress concentration on the measured strength distribution. Strength-based, Weibull-based, and fracture mechanics-based failure analyses were performed and compared with the experimental results.},
doi = {10.2172/990954},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/990954}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010},
month = {Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010}
}