AlGaN/GaN Based Heterostructures for MEMS and NEMS Applications

With the increasing requirements for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) regarding stability, miniaturization and integration, novel materials such as wide band gap semiconductors are receiving more attention. The outstanding properties of group III-nitrides offer many more possibilities for the implementation of new functionalities and a variety of technologies are available to realize group III-nitride based MEMS. In this work we demonstrate the application of these techniques for the fabrication of full-nitride MEMS. It includes a novel actuation and sensing principle based on the piezoelectric effect and employing a two-dimensional electron gas confined in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures as integrated back electrode. Furthermore, the actuation of flexural and longitudinal vibration modes in resonator bridges are demonstrated as well as their sensing properties.