Mechanical Behavior of Amorphous Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited Silicon Oxide Films for MEMS Applications

非晶薄膜材料越来越普遍地应用于MEMS的新兴应用中。然而，与晶体相比，它们的机械行为还没有被很好地理解。这项工作的总体目标是有助于科学地理解非晶薄膜材料机械响应的因果机制，从而允许设计和构建高效的MEMS结构和器件。具体来说，等离子体增强化学气相沉积氧化硅薄膜的机械响应将在不同的热条件下，应力水平，尺寸尺度，以及弹性和塑性区域进行探测。将系统地表征薄膜的各种不同的力学行为特征，并深入分析其背后的物理因果机制。在教育方面，鉴于该研究的广泛跨学科性质，研究生将有一个很好的机会在一个连接基础研究和应用的领域工作。此外，将聘请两到三名本科生研究人员参与该项目，通过大学与女性工程师协会和少数民族工程师协会的合作关系，女性和少数民族学生将被纳入该项目。

Amorphous thin film materials are more and more commonly adopted in the emerging new applications of MEMS. However, their mechanical behavior is still not yet nearly well understood as compared with their crystalline counterparts. The overall objective of this work is to contribute to the scientific understanding of the causal mechanisms of the mechanical responses of amorphous thin film materials so as to permit the design and construction of efficient MEMS structures and devices. Specifically, mechanical responses of the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited silicon oxide thin films will be probed under different thermal conditions, stress levels, size scales, and in both elastic and plastic regions. Various distinctive characteristics of the mechanical behaviors of the thin films will be characterized systematically, and the underlying physical causal mechanisms will be analyzed in depth. Educationally, given the broad interdisciplinary nature of this research, graduate students will have an outstanding opportunity to work in an area that bridges basic research and application. In addition, two to three undergraduate researchers will be hired to work on this project, and women and minority students will be included via the University's collaborative relationship with the Society of Women Engineers and Minority Engineers Society.