DC-65 GHz characterization of nanocrystalline diamond leaky film for reliable RF MEMS switches

Author

Chee, Joolien ; Karru, Ratnakar ; Fisher, Timothy S. ; Peroulis, Dimitrios

Author_Institution

Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN, USA

fYear

2005

fDate

3-4 Oct. 2005

Firstpage

581

Lastpage

584

Abstract

This paper reports on the growth, patterning, and characterization of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) thin diamond film for DC-65 GHz applications. Nanocrystalline films are successfully demonstrated with an average grain size of less than 60 nm that can replace conventional low-quality dielectrics in RF MEMS switches. In addition to their excellent surface properties, the diamond film has negligible RF loss up to at least 65 GHz, but non-zero DC conductivity of approximately 0.2 /spl mu/S/m that allows the film to provide a conductive path for potential trapped charges. Such films are envisioned to be integrated in today´s capacitive RF MEMS switches that suffer from charge-induced stiction.

Keywords

diamond; dielectric thin films; electrical conductivity; grain size; microswitches; nanostructured materials; nanotechnology; plasma CVD; 0 to 65 GHz; C; PECVD; RF MEMS switches; capacitive RF MEMS switches; charge-induced stiction; grain size; nanocrystalline diamond leaky film; nonzero DC conductivity; plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition; surface properties; thin diamond film; Chemical vapor deposition; Conductive films; Dielectric thin films; Grain size; Plasma applications; Plasma chemistry; Plasma properties; Radio frequency; Radiofrequency microelectromechanical systems; Switches;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Gallium Arsenide and Other Semiconductor Application Symposium, 2005. EGAAS 2005. European

Conference_Location

Paris

Print_ISBN

88-902012-0-7

Type

conf

Filename

1637285