Investigation of the Effects of Thermal Stress on the Performance of MEMS Based Fabry-Pérot Optical Pressure Sensor

Abstract

In this study, the effect of thermal stresses on FPI (Fabry-Pérot Interferometer) diaphragms made of Poly-Si and Si3Ni4 materials were theoretically investigated and evaluated in terms of the sensitivity and frequency response of the diaphragm. The thicknesses of diaphragms were chosen as 3 µm and 4 µm and radii were chosen as 100 µm, 120 µm and 130 µm, respectively. It was assumed that the Poly-Si diaphragm has compressive stress and Si3Ni4 diaphragm has tensile stress. Results showed that Poly-Si diaphragm with compression stress between -80 MPa and -5 MPa has higher sensitivity compared to Si diaphragm, however, it has a lower frequency response. Similarly, the sensitivity of the Si3Ni4 diaphragm with tensile stress decreases as the stress increases and the frequency response increases as the stress increases. The Si3Ni4 diaphragm with a tensile stress between 1000 MPa and 1750 MPa has a higher frequency response than the Si diaphragm although it shows lower sensitivity compared to Si diaphragm. In addition to the use of diaphragm design in different geometries and materials with different properties as available in the literature, it may possible to design a sensor with a higher sensitivity and a wider frequency response by considering the thermal stresses that occur during the fabrication of the diaphragm. 

Keywords

• Thermal stress
• Diaphragm
• MEMS Based FPI optic pressure sensor

Isıl Gerilmelerin MEMS Fabry-Perot Optik Basınç Sensörünün Performansına Etkilerinin Araştırılması

Abstract

Bu çalışmada Poly-Silikon ve Si3Ni4 malzemelerinden oluşan FPI diyaframları için ısıl gerilmelerin diyaframın hassasiyeti ve frekans cevabı üzerindeki etkileri teorik olarak incelenmiştir ve değerlendirilmiştir. Analitik hesaplamalar için liteatürde mevcut olan denklemler kullanılmıştır. Diyafram kalınlık ve yarıçap değerleri ortamdaki basınç değişimi ile diyaframın yerdeğiştimesinin arasında doğrusal bir ilişki olması için gerekli kısıtlamalar göz önünde bulundurularak belirlenmiştir. Diyaframların kalınlıkları 3 ve 4 µm olarak seçilmiştir. Yarıçapları ise 100 µm,120 µm ve 130 µm olarak seçilmiştir. Poly-Silikon diyafram sıkıştırma gerilmesine sahip olduğu ve -80 MPa ile -5MPa aralığında değiştiği kabul edilmiştir. Si3Ni4 diyaframı da germe gerilmesine sahip olduğu ve gerilme değeride 1000 MPa ile 1750 MPa arasında olduğu varsayılmıştır. Silikon diyafram da sonuçların karşılaştırılması için referans olarak kullanılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre sıkıştırma gerilmesinin artması diyaframın hassasiyetini azaltırken frekans cevabını daha yüksek değerlere çıkarmaktadır. Poly-Silikon diyafram için -80 MPa ile -5 MPa aralığındaki sıkıştırma gerilme değerlerinde Silikon diyaframa göre daha yüksek hasssasiyete sahip iken daha düşük frekans cevabına sahiptir. Benzer olarak germe gerilmesine sahip Si3Ni4 diyaframının hassaslığı gerilme arttıkça azalmaktadır ve frekans cevabı da gerilme arttıkça artmaktadır. 1000MPa ile 1750 MPa arasında germe gerilmesine sahip Si3Ni4 diyaframı Silikon diyaframa göre daha düşük hasssasiyet göstermesine rağmen daha yüksek frekans cevabına sahiptir. Diyaframların üretimleri sırasında oluşan ısıl gerilmeler kaplama şartlarına göre kontrol edilebildiğinden bu gerilme değerlerine göre diyaframın hassasiyeti ve frekans cevabı gibi sensörün performansını belirleyen parametreler kontrol edilebilir. Literatürde mevcut olan farklı geometrilerde diyafram tasarımı ve farklı özelliklere sahip malzeme kullanılmasına ek olarak diyaframın üretimi esnasında oluşan ısıl gerilmelerde göz önüne alınarak daha geniş hassasiyete ve frekans cevabına sahip sensör tasarımı mümkün olabilir.

Keywords

• ısıl gerilme
• diyafram
• MEMS tabanlı FPI optik basınç sensör

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