Measurement of the properties of MetalMUMPS® thin films

The metal multi-user micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) processes (MetalMUMPs®) micro-machining process includes two silicon nitride films, one polysilicon film, and one nickel film for constructing various MEMS devices. This thesis presents property measurements of the metalMUMPs® silicon nitride and nickel films. Fabricated MetalMUMPs® silicon nutride prototypes were used to experimentally determine a Young’s modulus of 209 GPa and a residual stress difference of 169 MPa for the silicon nitride films. A method, which uses the deformations along the width of bi-layered cantilever beams, was proposed to determine the residual stress difference of the two silicon nitride films. Fabricated MetalMUMPs® nickel prototypes were used to experimentally extract a Young’s modulus of 159 GPa and a residual stress gradient of -4.72 MPa/m for the nickel film. A micro bridge mechanism was developed to lift long silicon nitride beams for the determination of the residual stress difference of the two silicon nitride films.