Abstract
This paper reports an electrostatically actuated single crystal 4H-SiC cantilever performing frequency mixing. In order to achieve electrostatic actuation and solve the challenge of releasing MEMS structures due to the extreme chemical hardness of 4H-SiC, an n-p-n homoepitaxial structure was chosen, with cantilever actuators released by photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching. The middle p-SiC layer acts as a sacrificial layer in PEC etching to release actuators and also isolates the top n-SiC cantilever from the bottom n-SiC substrate to realize electrostatic actuation. This study shows that electrostatically actuated RF MEMS capable of operating in harsh environments are attainable by single crystal 4H-SiC owing to its superior material properties including chemical and thermal stability, high ratio of Young's Modulus to density, etc.
Recommended Citation
F. Zhao et al., "4H-sic Electrostatic Cantilever Actuator Released by Photoelectrochemical Etching and Application for Frequency Mixing," 2015 Transducers 2015 18th International Conference on Solid State Sensors Actuators and Microsystems Transducers 2015, pp. 2009 - 2012, article no. 7181349, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Aug 2015.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1109/TRANSDUCERS.2015.7181349
Department(s)
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
4H-SiC; frequency mixing; photoelectrochemical etching; RF MEMS; Single crystal
International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
978-147998955-3
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
05 Aug 2015
