NEMS based diamond field emitters for new generation of low loss RF switches

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Oliver Ambacher
• Subject Area: Microsystems
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 187805147

• Final Report Year: 2016

Final Report Abstract

The main aim of the RF-CUBE project - validation of new actuation and transmission principles for the ac “non-contact” transducers based on flexural vibrations of AlN/NCD resonators - has been successfully accomplished by demonstrating functionality of the field emission based device at sub-MHz frequencies. Moreover, the ideas presented in “Vision” section of the proposal have been as well partly realized using nano-fabrication methods and comprehensive processing technologies in collaboration with our scientific partners. The following topics have received a particular attention and been studied in details: • thin film deposition technologies for high mechanical quality nanodiamond/AlN heterostructures, including stress-management solutions; • studies of mechanical and (piezo)-electrical properties p-NCD and AlN layers in unimorph structures; • down-scaling of resonators down to sub-µm level in order to achieve 1 GHz for flexural vibrations and development of nano-gap technologies; • demonstration of the field emission transconductance for electrostatically coupled cantilever devices; • experimental studies of dominant field-emission mechanisms in these devices. The performed investigations have built a solid basis as for the application-related (e.g. PMUT and VME devices) as well as for the future material and device physics related studies of electro-mechanical and vacuum micro-electronic phenomena observed during RF-CUBE research. Despite of the fact that photon-assisted field emission has not been demonstrated for high frequencies as planned initially, the investigations on this particular subject will be continued further due to the high-potential of this modulation mechanism in high frequency transducers and optical sensors.

Publications

• Electrostatically coupled vibration modes in unimorph complementary microcantilevers, Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 124104 (2012)
  V. Lebedev, N. Heidrich, F. Knöbber, R. E. Sah, W. Pletschen, B. Raynor, V. Polyakov, V. Cimalla, and O. Ambacher
  
• Corrugated piezoelectric membranes for energy harvesting from aperiodic vibrations, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 195, 32-37 (2013)
  N. Heidrich, F. Knöbber, V. Polyakov, V. Cimalla, W. Pletschen, R.E. Sah, L. Kirste, S. Leopold, S. Hampl, O. Ambacher, V. Lebedev
  
• Corrugated piezoelectric membranes for energy harvesting from aperiodic vibrations, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical 195, 32-37 (2013)
  N. Heidrich, F. Knöbber, V. Polyakov, V. Cimalla, W. Pletschen, R.E. Sah, L. Kirste, S. Leopold, S. Hampl, O. Ambacher, V. Lebedev
  
• Crystallographic Texture of Submicron Thin Aluminum Nitride Films on Molybdenum Electrode for Suspended Micro and Nanosystems, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology 2 (2013) P180-P184
  R. E. Sah, L. Kirste, H. Kirmse, M. Mildner, L.Wilde, S. Kopta, F. Knöbber, M. Krieg, V. Cimalla, V. Lebedev, and O. Ambacher
  
• Enhanced mechanical performance of AlN/nanodiamond micro-resonators, J. Micromech. Microeng. 23, 125017 (2013)
  N. Heidrich, J. Hees, W. Pletschen, R.E. Sah, L. Kirste, V. Zuerbig, C. Nebel, O. Ambacher and V. Lebedev
  
• Nano-diamond vacuum MEMS for RF applications, Proc. The 17th International Conference on Transducers & Eurosensors XXVII, Barcelona, SPAIN, 16-20 June 2013, pp. 218-221
  N. Heidrich, J. Hees, V. Zuerbig, D. Iankov, W. Pletschen, R. E. Sah, B. Raynor, L. Kirste, C.E. Nebel, O. Ambacher and V. Lebedev
  
• Piezoelectric actuated micro-resonators based on the growth of diamond on aluminum nitride thin films, Nanotechnology 24, 025601 (2013)
  J. Hees, N. Heidrich, W. Pletschen, R. E. Sah, M. Wolfer, O. A. Williams, V. Lebedev, C. E. Nebel and O. Ambacher
  
• Piezoelectrically actuated diamond cantilevers for high-frequency applications, Diamond and Related Materials 38, 69-72 (2013)
  N. Heidrich, V. Zuerbig, D. Iankov, W. Pletschen, R.E. Sah, B. Raynor, L. Kirste, C.E. Nebel, O. Ambacher, V. Lebedev
  
• Transparent diamond electrodes for tunable micro-optical devices, Diamond and Related Materials 38 (2013) 101–103
  V. Zuerbig, W. Pletschen, J. Hees, R. E. Sah, L. Kirste, N. Heidrich, C. E. Nebel, O. Ambacher and V. Lebedev
  
• Nano-diamond based spheres for radio frequency electromechanical resonators, J. Micromech. Microeng. 24, 045015 (2014)
  V. Lebedev, D. Iankov, N. Heidrich, V. Zuerbig, C. Wild, V. Cimalla and O. Ambacher
  
• Processing of nanoscale gaps for boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond based MEMS, Procedia Engineering 87, 903 – 906 (2014)
  D. Iankov, V. Zuerbig, W. Pletschen, C. Giese, R. Iannucci, O. Ambacher, V. Lebedev
  
• Appropriate Salt Concentration of Nanodiamond Colloids for Electrostatic Self-Assembly Seeding of Monosized Individual Diamond Nanoparticles on Silicon Dioxide Surfaces, Langmuir 31, 5319–5325 (2015)
  T. Yoshikawa, V. Zuerbig, F. Gao, R. Hoffmann, C. E Nebel, O. Ambacher, V. Lebedev
  
• “Kontaktlose Mikroschalter auf der Basis von Dünnschichten aus Aluminiumnitrid und nanokristallinem Diamant“ (2015)
  N. Heidrich