Tensile properties of polysilicon in surface micromachining

Abstract

Polysilicon is widely used in surface micromachining and often acts as the essential structural material. So mechanical properties of polysilicon are very important for microstructure design. In this paper we propose a simple method using spinner to measure the tensile property of a polysilicon microbeam fabricated by a routine surface process. The specimen is a cantilever with a paddle on which nickel is electroplated to form a seismic mass. When the specimen is placed along the radial vector, the centrifugal force caused by the seismic mass will pull the cantilever to fracture. This method enables a simple specimen preparation and measurement process.