Static and dynamic characterization of AlN-driven microcantilevers using optical interference microscopy

Abstract We have developed an optomechanical methodology, combining interferometric deflection data, the nanoindentation technique and analytical modeling to perform the characterization of piezoelectrically driven microcantilevers operating as MEMS actuators. Here, the association of standard Twyman–Green interferometry (TGI) with time averaged and stroboscopic techniques permits the evaluation of the 3-D out-of-plane deflections of microdevices and provides feedback of measurements that helps us to optimize MEMS structures and improve the reliability and stability of microcantilevers. The goal of the presented study was investigation of high-quality cantilevers composed from silicon beam and a transducer including the aluminum nitride (AlN) layer. It is a material with piezoelectric properties, which can be an alternative for PZT films in micromachining technology. After presenting the fabrication process of the testing devices, the rest of the paper will focus on non-contact measurements of cantilevers deflection by interferometry: static data (e.g., initial shape, deformation, stress) and dynamic parameters of samples (e.g., resonance frequency and amplitude distributions in vibration modes). On the basis of these experimental data, parameters such as piezoelectric coefficient d31 have been calculated taking into account multiple film stacking.