Deformation and Restoration of Shape in Microelectromechanical System Membrane

This paper investigates whether there is a relationship between the curvature of a microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) membrane and the amount of argon (Ar) implanted in it. When a freestanding silicon membrane, fabricated through ashing of an organic sacrificial layer, is cleaned by exposure to Ar plasma to remove the superficial oxide, the membrane is curved uniformly. The curvature is released by annealing. An analysis of total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) before and after annealing reveals that Ar, which is implanted into the crystal lattice of silicon by Ar plasma exposure, is desorbed by annealing, thereby restoring the original shape. This analysis also indicates that there is a linear relationship between the change in curvature and the concentration of implanted Ar. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.