Fabrication and structural characterization of a resonant frequency PZT microcantilever

The fabrication and structural characterization of a surface micromachined, resonant frequency, Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ (PZT) microcantilever will be presented. The PZT microcantilever was fabricated using surface micromachining techniques, and used a low-stress silicon nitride thin film as the base material for the microcantilever onto which a PZT thin film was incorporated. The PZT thin film is used as both the microsensor and the microactuator. A unique fabrication procedure was developed in order to eliminate the step of encapsulating the PZT during the removal of the spacer layer. The encapsulation step was avoided because of the difficulty in finding a suitable material, which would protect the PZT during the removal of the spacer layer yet not affect its material properties. This predicament was resolved by removing the spacer layer prior to the deposition of the PZT. The microcantilevers were characterized extensively using an atomic force microscope in an unusual manner. The atomic force microscope was modified in such a fashion that the deflection at the tip of the microcantilever could be measured as the frequency of an electrical signal applied to the PZT thin film was varied. In addition, an impedance analyzer was used to characterize the microcantilevers. Simple thin-film, laminated plate theory was used to obtain a closed-form solution for the modal response of the microcantilever, while ANSYS was used to obtain modal and harmonic simulation results. It will be shown that the experimental, numerical, and theoretical modal results are within ±10% of one another. The experimental and numerical harmonic results differ by an order of magnitude; however, the numerical model is currently being modified to more accurately represent the PZT microcantilever. From the information gathered during the structural characterization of the PZT microcantilever, it will be shown that certain higher-order resonant frequency modes have very large mechanical responses. These higher-order resonant frequency modes give designers another parameter to adjust when trying to optimize the design of their resonant frequency device.