Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
9-30-1990
Degree Name
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering - (M.S.)
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
First Advisor
Durgamadhab Misra
Second Advisor
William N. Carr
Third Advisor
N. M. Ravindra
Abstract
Micromechanics is a field which is maturing. Recent research interest in micromechanical structures has focussed on the fabrication of microactuators and microsensors. These microsensors and actuators can sense very small changes in the environment without disturbing the equilibrium of the environment. The refractory silicides are some of the compatible materials used to integrate the micromechanical structures and the interfacing electronic circuits on the same chip. As a result of this, the thermodynamic, electrical and mechanical properties of transition metal silicides should be given a closer look for micromechanical applications.
This thesis details the design and fabrication of tungsten silicide moveable microstructures for precision motion and actuation. Such microstructures include cantilever beams and doubly supported beams to measure the modulus of elasticity. To simulate mechanical properties an electrostatic potential is applied between the beam and the substrate. Different deflections were observed at different potentials and the appropriate potential at which the beam collapsed was estimated. The micromechanical structures require very demanding control over the feature dimensions which necessitates the use of anisotropic etching. A fabrication process is outlined using Reactive Ion Etching to implement these structures. The proposed microstructures can be fabricated utilizing surface micromachining, which uses sacrificial layers to release the microstructures.
Recommended Citation
Pathak, Bharat, "Investigation of micromechanical properties of tungsten silicide thin films" (1990). Theses. 2902.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/theses/2902
