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Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films offer advantages in microelectromechanical systems (MEMSs) including large motion, lower drive voltage, and high energy densities. Depending on the application, different substrates are sometimes required. Self-heating occurs in the PZT MEMS due to the energy loss from domain wall motion, which can degrade the device performance and reliability. In this work, the self-heating of PZT thin films on Si and glass and a film released from a substrate were investigated to understand the effect of substrates on the device temperature rise. Nano-particle assisted Raman thermometry was employed to quantify the operational temperature rise of these PZT actuators. The results were validated using a finite element thermal model, where the volumetric heat generation was experimentally determined from the hysteresis loss. While the volumetric heat generation of the PZT films on different substrates was similar, the PZT films on the Si substrate showed a minimal temperature rise due to the effective heat dissipation through the high thermal conductivity substrate. The temperature rise on the released structure is 6.8× higher than that on the glass substrates due to the absence of vertical heat dissipation. The experimental and modeling results show that the thin layer of residual Si remaining after etching plays a crucial role in mitigating the effect of device self-heating. The outcomes of this study suggest that high thermal conductivity passive elastic layers can be used as an effective thermal management solution for PZT-based MEMS actuators.
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Interface Stress for Bidirectional Frequency Tuning of Prebuckled Vanadium Dioxide MEMS Resonators
Abstract Interface stress between structural materials and thin film coatings has a significant influence on the resonant frequency of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) resonators. In this work, the axial stress on different types of buckled bridge MEMS resonator structures is controlled through the solid‐to‐solid phase transition of a VO2thin film coating. The devices have identical dimensions, but different buckling orientations and profiles due to the combined effect of overetching and residual thermal stress mismatch. Thermal actuation is used to tune the resonant frequency of the device, but the changes in frequency are found to be dependent on the type of buckling for the device. Thermal actuation is achieved by applying an electrical current to integrated heaters, or by uniform substrate heating. Bidirectional tunability is found when substrate heating is used, while Joule heating shows a monotonic change in frequency. This phenomenon can be attributed to the transition in boundary conditions, where the turning points are indicated by the prominent changes in buckling amplitude. In addition, devices with opposite buckling orientations exhibit different tuning behaviors which can be explained by different bending moments induced by beam stress interface modification.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1854750
- PAR ID:
- 10459519
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials Interfaces
- Volume:
- 6
- Issue:
- 21
- ISSN:
- 2196-7350
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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