Structural and Piezoresistive Characteristics of Amorphous Silicon Carbide Films Grown on AlN/Si Substrates

摘要

Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) thin films have been grown on aluminum nitride (AlN) intermediate layers on (100) Si substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique. Profilometry, four-point probe method, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) were employed to characterize the as-deposited SiC thin films. Test structures have been developed to investigate the piezoresistive properties. These structures consist of SiC thin-film resistors on AlN/Si substrates defined by reactive ion etching (RIE) with Ti/Au pads formed by lift-off process. Gauge factor (GF) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) measurements have been performed and demonstrated the potential of these resistors to be used as sensing elements in devices for high temperature application.