Performance Modification of SiC MEMS

The adjustment of the properties of 3C-SiC based MEMS devices, i.e. the quality factor and resonant frequency, was achieved by changing the residual stress and the 3C-SiC material quality of the SiC-layers grown on Si(111) by manipulating the nucleation conditions and growth conditions with Ge deposition prior to the carbonization and epitaxial growth. Previous Raman analysis of the SiC-layers and measured resonant frequencies and quality factors of the processed MEMS show a dependence on the Ge amount at the interface of the Si/SiC heterostructure, which allows to adjust the MEMS properties to the requirements needed for certain applications.