{"title":"Migration of Chromium on the Silicon Oxide Surface under a Strong Electric Field","authors":"I. V. Uvarov, L. A. Mazaletskiy","doi":"10.1134/S1027451024701179","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Migration of chromium, which acts as an adhesive material for planar electrodes of a MEMS switch, over the surface of a thermally oxidized silicon wafer is demonstrated. Voltage pulses lead to the formation of chromium and carbon nanostructures on the driving electrode and their growth towards the signal electrode. Over time, the structures reach micron sizes and cover the interelectrode gap. Migration is activated by an electric field of about 10<sup>8</sup> V/m. The first structures appear after applying 10<sup>2</sup>–10<sup>5</sup> pulses, but the process accelerates as they grow. For platinum electrodes, migration is faster and requires a lower voltage compared to gold electrodes. Material transfer occurs not only in the gap between the electrodes but also on the SiO<sub>2</sub> surface around the positive electrode. The material also moves under the Pt and Au films, peeling them off from the substrate. The described phenomena can damage electrostatically actuated MEMS switches and other devices that use high electric fields.</p>","PeriodicalId":671,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Surface Investigation: X-ray, Synchrotron and Neutron Techniques","volume":"18 6","pages":"1295 - 1301"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Surface Investigation: X-ray, Synchrotron and Neutron Techniques","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1027451024701179","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PHYSICS, CONDENSED MATTER","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Migration of chromium, which acts as an adhesive material for planar electrodes of a MEMS switch, over the surface of a thermally oxidized silicon wafer is demonstrated. Voltage pulses lead to the formation of chromium and carbon nanostructures on the driving electrode and their growth towards the signal electrode. Over time, the structures reach micron sizes and cover the interelectrode gap. Migration is activated by an electric field of about 108 V/m. The first structures appear after applying 102–105 pulses, but the process accelerates as they grow. For platinum electrodes, migration is faster and requires a lower voltage compared to gold electrodes. Material transfer occurs not only in the gap between the electrodes but also on the SiO2 surface around the positive electrode. The material also moves under the Pt and Au films, peeling them off from the substrate. The described phenomena can damage electrostatically actuated MEMS switches and other devices that use high electric fields.
期刊介绍：
Journal of Surface Investigation: X-ray, Synchrotron and Neutron Techniques publishes original articles on the topical problems of solid-state physics, materials science, experimental techniques, condensed media, nanostructures, surfaces of thin films, and phase boundaries: geometric and energetical structures of surfaces, the methods of computer simulations; physical and chemical properties and their changes upon radiation and other treatments; the methods of studies of films and surface layers of crystals (XRD, XPS, synchrotron radiation, neutron and electron diffraction, electron microscopic, scanning tunneling microscopic, atomic force microscopic studies, and other methods that provide data on the surfaces and thin films). Articles related to the methods and technics of structure studies are the focus of the journal. The journal accepts manuscripts of regular articles and reviews in English or Russian language from authors of all countries. All manuscripts are peer-reviewed.
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