Electrical contact resistance and device lifetime measurements of Au-RuO 2-based RF MEMS exposed to hydrocarbons in vacuum and nitrogen environments

Tribology Letters

Volumn 44, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 305-314

  Walker, M J ^a   Berman, D ^b   Nordquist, C ^c   Krim, J ^b  

^a North Carolina State University   (United States)

^b NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES   (United States)

Author keywords

Adhesion; Contact mechanics; MEMS devices; Stiction; Surface roughness

Indexed keywords

CONTACT MECHANICS; CONTINUOUS OPERATION; DEVICE LIFETIME; DODECANE; ELECTRICAL CONTACT RESISTANCE; ELECTRICAL CONTACT SURFACES; IN-SITU; IN-VACUUM; INITIAL RESISTANCE; MEMS DEVICES; NITROGEN ENVIRONMENT; NITROGEN GAS; ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE; OXYGEN PLASMAS; PHYSISORBED; PLASMA CLEANING; RF-MEMS; ULTRAHIGH VACUUM SYSTEM; VACUUM LEVEL;

ADHESION; CLEANING; CONTACT RESISTANCE; CURRENT VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS; ELECTRIC CONTACTS; ELECTROMECHANICAL DEVICES; HYDROCARBONS; MONOLAYERS; NITROGEN PLASMA; RUTHENIUM ALLOYS; RUTHENIUM COMPOUNDS; STICTION; SURFACE ROUGHNESS; VACUUM; VACUUM TECHNOLOGY;

NITROGEN;

EID: 81855198941     PISSN: 10238883     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11249-011-9849-8     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. Rebeiz, G.M.: RF MEMS: Theory, Design, and Technology. Wiley, New Jersey (2003)
2. JJ Yao 2000 RF MEMS from a device perspective J. Micromech. Microeng. 10 R9 R38 10.1088/0960-1317/10/4/201 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3MXhvV2q (Pubitemid 32075089)
3. ST Patton KC Eapen JS Zabinski JH Sanders AA Voevodin 2007 J. Appl. Phys. 102 024903 10.1063/1.2753594 (Pubitemid 47192021)
4. ST Patton JS Zabinski 2005 Fundamental studies of Au contacts in MEMS RF switches Tribol. Lett. 18 215 230 10.1007/s11249-004-1778-3 1:CAS:528: DC%2BD2MXhslKls7g%3D (Pubitemid 40374125)
5. L Kogut K Komvolpoulos 2004 Electrical contact resistance theory for conductive rough surfaces separated by a thin insulating film J. Appl. Phys. 95 576 585 10.1063/1.1629392 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2cXnsVWh
6. L Kogut K Komvopoulos 2005 Analytical current-voltage relationships for electron tunneling across rough interfaces J. Appl. Phys. 97 073701 10.1063/1.1866472 (Pubitemid 40537948)
7. Dickrell, D.J., Dugger, M.T.: The effects of surface contamination on resistance degradation of hot-switched low-force MEMS electrical contacts. In: Electrical Contacts Proceedings of the Fifty-First IEEE Holm Conference, pp. 255-258 (2005) (Pubitemid 44250003)
8. M Walker C Nordquist D Czaplewski G Patrizi N McGruer J Krim 2010 Impact of in situ oxygen plasma cleaning on the resistance of Ru and Au-Ru based rf microelectromechanical system contacts in vacuum J. Appl. Phys. 107 084509 10.1063/1.3353991
9. BNJ Persson 2008 Capillary adhesion between elastic solids with randomly rough surfaces J. Phys. Condens. Matter 20 315007 10.1088/0953-8984/20/31/315007
10. J Krim JG Dash J Suzanne 1984 Triple-point wetting of light molecular gases on Au(111) surfaces Phys. Rev. Lett. 52 640 643 10.1103/PhysRevLett.52.640 1:CAS:528:DyaL2cXptFyksw%3D%3D
11. V Panella R Chiarello J Krim 1996 Adequacy of the Lifshitz theory for certain thin adsorbed films Phys. Rev. Lett. 76 3606 3609 10.1103/PhysRevLett. 76.3606 1:CAS:528:DyaK28XivVWntLk%3D (Pubitemid 126631491)
12. KR Mecke J Krim 1996 Adsorption isotherms and thermal fluctuations Phys. Rev. B 53 2073 2082 10.1103/PhysRevB.53.2073 1:CAS:528:DyaK28XptV2gsw%3D%3D
13. V Panella J Krim 1994 Adsorption isotherm study of the fractal scaling behavior of vapor-deposited silver films Phys. Rev. E 49 4179 4184 10.1103/PhysRevE.49.4179 1:CAS:528:DyaK2cXksVemurc%3D
14. C Mak J Krim 1997 Quartz crystal microbalance studies of disorder-induced lubrication Faraday Discuss. 107 389 397 10.1039/a703481d 1:CAS:528: DyaK1cXhtlaltbc%3D (Pubitemid 127524409)
15. J Krim ET Watts J Digel 1990 Slippage of simple liquid films adsorbed on silver and gold substrates J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 8 4 3417 3420 10.1116/1.576524 1:CAS:528:DyaK3cXltVequro%3D
16. RP Chiarello J Krim C Thompson 1994 Quartz crystal microbalance and synchrotron X-ray reflectivity study of water and liquid xenon adsorbed on gold and quartz Surf. Sci. 306 359 366 10.1016/0039-6028(94)90077-9 1:CAS:528:DyaK2cXjtVyitr0%3D
17. GS Ferguson M Chaudhury GB Sigal GM Whitesides 1991 Contact adhesion of thin gold films on elastomeric supports: cold welding under ambient conditions Science 253 776 778 10.1126/science.253.5021.776 1:CAS:528:DyaK3MXlsVegs7g%3D (Pubitemid 21917213)
18. C Brown AS Morris AI Kingon, et al. 2008 Cryogenic performance of RF MEMS switch contacts J. Microelectromech. Syst. 17 1460 10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2005328
19. D Berman MJ Walker J Krim 2010 Contact voltage-induced softening of RF microelectromechanical system gold-on-gold contacts at cryogenic temperatures J. Appl. Phys. 108 044307 10.1063/1.3459893
20. Koidl, H.P., Rieder, W.F., Salzmann, Q.R.: Influence of physical/chemical characteristics of organic vapors and gas mixtures on their contact compatibility. IEEE Trans. Comp. Packag. Manufact. Technol. 22 (1999)
21. Koidl, H.P., Rieder, W.F., Salzmann, Q.R.: Influence of contact material parameters on contact compatibility of organic vapors. IEEE Trans. Comp. Packag. Manufact. Technol. 23 (2000)
22. Takahashi, K., Takahashi, Y., Hayashi, M., Sugawara, K., Imai, J., Mori, S.: Electrical contacts proceedings of the 43rd IEEE Holm conference on electrical contacts, pp. 340-348 (1997)
23. L Weber M Lehr E Gmelin 1996 Investigation of the transport properties of gold point contacts Phys. B 217 181 192 10.1016/0921-4526(95)00630-3 1:CAS:528:DyaK28XhtlWlsL0%3D (Pubitemid 126377531)
24. B Borovsky J Krim SA Syed Asif KJ Wahl 2001 Measuring nanomechanical properties of a dynamic contact using an indenter probe and quartz crystal microbalance J. Appl. Phys. 90 6391 10.1063/1.1413493 1:CAS:528: DC%2BD3MXoslKmsLk%3D (Pubitemid 34046812)
25. JA Greenwood JBP Williamson 1966 Contact of nominally flat surfaces Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 295 300 319 10.1098/rspa.1966.0242 1:CAS:528:DyaF2sXht1ChsA%3D%3D
26. Bowden, F.P., Tabor, D.: The area of contact between stationary and between moving surfaces. Proc. R. Soc. A 169, 391 (1939)
27. DG Bansal JL Streater 2011 Voltage saturation in electrical contacts via viscoplastic creep Acta Mater. 59 726 737 10.1016/j.actamat.2010.10.011 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3cXhsVWhur%2FF
28. O Rezvanian C Brown MA Zikry AI Kingon J Krim DL Irving DW Brenner 2008 The role of creep in the time dependent resistance of ohmic gold contacts in radio frequency microelectromechanical system devices J. Appl. Phys. 104 024513 10.1063/1.2953072
29. C Brown O Rezvanian MA Zikry J Krim 2009 Temperature dependence of asperity contact and contact resistance in gold RF MEMS switches J. Micromech. Microeng. 19 025006 10.1088/0960-1317/19/2/025006
30. O Rezvanian MA Zikry C Brown J Krim 2007 Surface roughness, asperity contact and gold RF MEMS switch behavior J. Micromech. Microeng. 17 2006 2015 10.1088/0960-1317/17/10/012 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2sXhtlOht7vP (Pubitemid 47469907)
31. JG Simmons 1963 Generalized formula for the electric tunnel effect between similar electrodes separated by a thin insulating film J. Appl. Phys. 34 1793 10.1063/1.1702682
32. C Li ET Thostenson T-W Chou 2007 Dominant role of tunneling resistance in the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube-based composites App. Phys. Lett. 91 223114 10.1063/1.2819690 (Pubitemid 350191666)
33. Xu, S., Rezvanian, O., Peters, K., Zikry, M.A.: Tunneling effects and electrical conductivity of CNT polymer composites. In: MRS Proceedings, p. 1304 (2011)
34. JM Pitarke F Flores PM Echenique 1990 Tunneling spectroscopy: surface geometry and interface potential effects Surf. Sci. 234 1 16 10.1016/0039-6028(90)90659-V 1:CAS:528:DyaK3cXlvVaru70%3D
35. YA Hong JR Hahn H Kang 1998 Electron transfer through interfacial water layer studied by scanning tunneling microscopy J. Chem. Phys. 108 4367 10.1063/1.475847 1:CAS:528:DyaK1cXhsV2jsr0%3D
36. B Xu NJ Tao 2003 Measurement of single-molecule resistance by repeated formation of molecular junctions Science 301 1221 10.1126/science.1087481 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3sXmslShs7w%3D (Pubitemid 37052206)
37. A Fortini MI Mendelev S Buldyrev DJ Srolovitz 2008 Asperity contacts at the nanoscale: comparison of Ru and Au J. Appl. Phys. 104 074320 10.1063/1.2991301
38. PV Schwartz DJ Lavrich G Scoles 2003 Overlayers of long-chain organic molecules physisorbed on the surface of self-assembled monolayers of alkylthiols on Au(111) Langmuir 19 4969 10.1021/la034159b 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3sXjsVSnsLg%3D
39. Y Iwasaki A Izumi H Tsurumaki A Namki H Oizumi I Nishiyama 2007 Oxidation and reduction of thin Ru films by gas plasma Appl. Surf. Sci. 253 8699 10.1016/j.apsusc.2007.04.063 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2sXosFent70%3D (Pubitemid 47126629)
40. I Nishiyama H Oizumi K Motai 2005 Reduction of oxide layer on Ru surface by atomic hydrogen treatment J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 23 3129 10.1116/1.2130356 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD28XmtlCqtA%3D%3D (Pubitemid 41788824)
41. 2 thin films by reactive sputtering J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 18 1328 10.1116/1.591385
42. C Brown AS Morris AI Kingon J Krim 2008 Cryogenic performance of RF MEMS switch contacts J. Microeletromech. Syst. 17 1460 10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2005328
43. Konchits, V.V., Kim, C.K.: Electric current passage and interface heating. Wear 232 (1999)
44. G Sauerbrey 1959 Zeitschrift fur Physik 155 2 206 222 10.1007/BF01337937 1:CAS:528:DyaG1MXoslSjtQ%3D%3D
45. Hook, D.A., Miller, B.P., Vlastakis, B., Dugger, M.T., Krim, J.: Vapor phase lubrication at ultra-low partial pressures of ethanol (submitted)
46. X Bouju Ch Girard H Tang C Joachin L Pizzagalli 1997 van der Waals atomic trap in a scanning-tunneling-microscope junction: tip shape, dynamical effects, and tunnel current signatures Phys. Rev. B 55 16498 10.1103/PhysRevB.55.16498 1:CAS:528:DyaK2sXkt1ylsLs%3D
47. U Kurpick TS Rahman 1999 Tip induced motion of adatoms on metal surfaces Phys. Rev. Lett. 83 2765 10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.2765 1:CAS:528: DyaK1MXmsVektr0%3D
48. YH Jang JR Barber 2003 Effect of contact statistics on electrical contact resistance J. Appl. Phys. 94 7215 10.1063/1.1622995 1:CAS:528: DC%2BD3sXovFyntLo%3D
49. CD Lorenz M Chandross GS Grest 2010 Large scale molecular dynamics simulations of vapor phase lubrication for MEMS J. Adhesion Sci. Technol. 24 2453 10.1163/016942410X508163 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC3MXhslKrs7s%3D
50. M Abdelmaksoud SM Lee CW Padgett DW Irving DW Brenner J Krim 2006 STM, QCM, and the windshield wiper effect: a joint theoretical-experimental study of adsorbate mobility and lubrication at high sliding rates Langmuir 22 9606 9609 10.1021/la061797w 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD28XhtVCmurjN (Pubitemid 44826370)
51. DW Brenner DL Irving AI Kingon J Krim 2007 Multiscale analysis of liquid lubrication trends from industrial machines to micro-electrical-mechanical systems Langmuir 23 9253 9257 10.1021/la701280k 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2sXot1ahs7k%3D (Pubitemid 47383511)
52. Berman, D., Walker, M.J., Nordquist, C.D., Krim, J.: Impact of adsorbed organic monolayers on vacuum electron tunneling contributions to electrical resistance at an asperity contact (In preparation)