Atomic force microscopy analyses on metallic thin films for optical MEMS

This paper is a study on three metallic thin films usable for manufacturing optical MEMS. The films were deposited by thermal evaporation on glass substrates. They were characterized from the topographical, tribological and mechanical point of view at nanoscale. The results pointed out that the silver thin films present higher values of the tribological and mechanical properties than the other two films when testing at room temperature. Increasing the testing temperature from 20 to 100 °C caused a decreased of both hardness and Young’s modulus with about 30 up to 55 %. Introduction The optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are formed in general by multi-layers of metallic thin films characterized by good optical properties. Over the last decades, the attention of the researchers was focused on developing different devices known as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) that are satisfying the demands of the customers. The properties of the materials employed for manufacturing such devices determine its properties and its performance [1]. The optical MEMS are a category of MEMS devices that are combining the optical, mechanical, and electronic properties in a single device. They are used in the manufacture of optical sensors, attenuators, micro-lenses, micro-mirrors, displays and so on [2-5]. Aluminum [6, 7], gold [8, 9] and silver [10, 11] are one of the most used materials for manufacturing optical MEMS due to their physical, chemical, mechanical, and optical properties. These materials can be obtained as thin films by different methods such as thermal evaporation [6], magnetron sputtering [7-9], electron beam deposition [12], and so on. Arrazat and his colleagues reported their results concerning the evolution of gold thin films deposited by sputtering on silicon substrates. They investigated the deposited films by electron back scatter diffraction analyses that allowed them to study the reliability of micro-switches manufactured using gold thin films [13]. The growth of aluminum thin films and the interfacial precipitation between such films and the silicon substrates were studied by Dutta and his coworkers. They pointed out that at the interface between the aluminum thin films and the silicon substrate during the heat treatment, some silicon precipitates are formed. According to them, these precipitates are supplying the driving force necessary for the deposit of the aluminum thin films [14]. Hojabri and his team worked on determining the influence of substrate temperature on the morphological and structural characteristics of silver thin films deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates. Their results showed that the substrate temperature Powder Metallurgy and Advanced Materials – RoPM&AM 2017 Materials Research Forum LLC Materials Research Proceedings 8 (2018) 125-133 doi: http://dx.doi. org/10.21741/9781945291999-14 126 strongly influence the growth of the silver thin films, their surface roughness, as well as their grain size [15]. This research is an experimental study regarding the deposition and characterization of aluminum, gold, and silver thin films deposited by thermal evaporation on glass substrates, these films being suitable for manufacturing optical MEMS. Materials and Experimental Procedure Aluminum, gold and silver targets with purity of 99.99 % were employed for the deposition of the three metallic films by thermal evaporation. The films were deposited on glass substrate. The substrates were cleaned in high purity alcohol (99.9 %), in an ultrasonic bath in order to remove any possible impurities. Further they were blown with compressed air. We used resistance heated tungsten sources (“boat” type) and a vacuum atmosphere (5·10 torr). A current of 60-80 A was applied. A distance of 50 mm was kept constant between the substrates and the resistors. The deposited thin films have a thickness of about 70 nm that was determined using a JEOL JSM 5600 LV scanning electron microscope from the Materials Science and Engineering Department, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. The so-obtained thin films were characterized from the topographical, tribological and mechanical point of view at nanoscale. The tests were performed on a XE70 atomic force microscope (AFM) from the Micro and Nano Systems Laboratory, Technical University of ClujNapoca, in a clean environment. An n-type silicon NSC35C cantilever was used for studying the topography and the tribological characteristics of the three metallic thin films. Its characteristics as the manufacturer mentioned are: length of 130 μm, thickness of 2 μm, width of 35 μm and force constant of 5.4 N/m. The set point used during tests was of 10 nN. The determination of the adhesion parameters was realized using a PPP-NCHR cantilever by spectroscopy in point. The relative humidity was 31 % and the testing temperature was varied between 20 and 100 oC, increasing it with 20 oC per testing. As the manufacturer indicated, the characteristics of this cantilever are: tip radius smaller than 10 nm, cantilever thickness of 4 μm, its width of 30 μm and length of 125 μm, tip height between 10 and 15 nm, force constant of 42 N·m-1. A TD21464 nanoindentor was employed for determining the mechanical characteristics (hardness and Young’s modulus) of the deposited films. The tests were carried out at a relative humidity of 31 % and at different temperatures namely 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 °C. The characteristics of this nanoindentor – as given by the manufacturer are: cantilever stiffness of 156 N/m; tip thickness of 19 μm; tip height of 103 μm; tip radius smaller than 25 nm and cantilever length of 581 μm. The tests were performed at a force limit of 50 nN. The obtained curves were interpreted using the XEI Image Processing Tool for SPM (scanning probe microscopy) data by both the Oliver and Pharr (for determining the values of the hardness) and the Hertzian (for determining the values of the Young’s modulus) methods [16]. Theoretical formula Based on the data obtained for the deflection of the tip when scanning a probe by contact mode, the friction force between the AFM tip and the deposited films was calculated using the equation (1) [17]: s l b h G r d F z f ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ = 2 3