Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures

Surface machining processes are responsible for creating microstructures that reside near the surfaces of a substrate and are characterized by the fabrication of micromechanical structures from deposited thin films. These films can be selectively removed to build three-dimensional structures whose f...

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Main Authors: Beirong Zheng, Chen Zhou, Quan Wang, Yifeng Chen, Wei Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/835942
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author Beirong Zheng
Chen Zhou
Quan Wang
Yifeng Chen
Wei Xue
author_facet Beirong Zheng
Chen Zhou
Quan Wang
Yifeng Chen
Wei Xue
author_sort Beirong Zheng
collection DOAJ
description Surface machining processes are responsible for creating microstructures that reside near the surfaces of a substrate and are characterized by the fabrication of micromechanical structures from deposited thin films. These films can be selectively removed to build three-dimensional structures whose functionality typically requires that they should be freed from the planar substrate. Silicon nitride thin film is one of these important materials. In this paper, by adjusting the SiH2Cl2/NH3 gaseous ratio, low stress silicon nitride (LS SiN) is deposited by the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process. The internal stress generally in 135 MPa has been detected using an FLX-2320 film stress tester. Based on the wide application in surface micromachining devices, the mechanical properties of LS SiN are measured by nanoindentation, giving the value of Young’s modulus of 224 GPa and the hardness of 22.5 GPa, respectively. Dry etching and wet etching are utilized to fabricate the LS SiN thin film for structural layers. The etching rate compared with normal Si3N4 film by LPCVD is demonstrated for silicon chip manufacture.
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institution OA Journals
issn 1687-8434
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publishDate 2013-01-01
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series Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-7519484ed2f643eaaf2bd198281e7cec2025-08-20T02:07:20ZengWileyAdvances in Materials Science and Engineering1687-84341687-84422013-01-01201310.1155/2013/835942835942Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device StructuresBeirong Zheng0Chen Zhou1Quan Wang2Yifeng Chen3Wei Xue4College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 323035, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 323035, ChinaState Key Lab of Transducer Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 323035, ChinaCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 323035, ChinaSurface machining processes are responsible for creating microstructures that reside near the surfaces of a substrate and are characterized by the fabrication of micromechanical structures from deposited thin films. These films can be selectively removed to build three-dimensional structures whose functionality typically requires that they should be freed from the planar substrate. Silicon nitride thin film is one of these important materials. In this paper, by adjusting the SiH2Cl2/NH3 gaseous ratio, low stress silicon nitride (LS SiN) is deposited by the low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) process. The internal stress generally in 135 MPa has been detected using an FLX-2320 film stress tester. Based on the wide application in surface micromachining devices, the mechanical properties of LS SiN are measured by nanoindentation, giving the value of Young’s modulus of 224 GPa and the hardness of 22.5 GPa, respectively. Dry etching and wet etching are utilized to fabricate the LS SiN thin film for structural layers. The etching rate compared with normal Si3N4 film by LPCVD is demonstrated for silicon chip manufacture.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/835942
spellingShingle Beirong Zheng
Chen Zhou
Quan Wang
Yifeng Chen
Wei Xue
Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
title Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures
title_full Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures
title_fullStr Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures
title_full_unstemmed Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures
title_short Deposition of Low Stress Silicon Nitride Thin Film and Its Application in Surface Micromachining Device Structures
title_sort deposition of low stress silicon nitride thin film and its application in surface micromachining device structures
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/835942
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