Hybrid pulsed laser deposition and Si-surface-micromachining process for integrated TiC coatings in moving MEMS
Autor: | Gouri Radhakrishnan, Ruby E. Robertson, Paul M. Adams, Robert C. Cole |
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Rok vydání: | 2003 |
Předmět: |
Microelectromechanical systems
Titanium carbide Materials science Silicon Process (computing) chemistry.chemical_element Nanotechnology General Chemistry Pulsed laser deposition chemistry.chemical_compound Surface micromachining chemistry Deposition (phase transition) General Materials Science Thin film |
Zdroj: | Applied Physics A. 77:175-184 |
ISSN: | 1432-0630 0947-8396 |
Popis: | Titanium carbide (TiC) is one of the preferred coatings for improving the performance of macroscopic moving mechanical components due to its established wear-resistance. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is an excellent method for depositing TiC, because unlike any other deposition process for TiC, PLD offers the capability of producing high-quality films even at room temperature. Using a modified PLD technique, especially designed for the deposition of particulate-free films, TiC coatings have been deposited at room temperature on silicon (Si) and on several types of thin films typically employed for fabricating microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Our results demonstrate that TiC coatings also offer a high wear-resistance to Si surfaces, which in turn has led to our application of TiC to “moving” Si MEMS devices. The performance of moving Si MEMS devices is limited by their poor operational lifetimes, which have been attributed to the excessive wear at sliding Si interfaces. The work presented here describes a hybrid process, whereby PLD is used in conjunction with a user-friendly Si surface micromachining scheme for inserting wear-resistant TiC coatings between critical sliding Si interfaces in MEMS devices. This paper describes the properties of PLD-TiC for MEMS and the hybrid PLD-surface micromachining process for the integration of TiC coatings into Si MEMS. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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