New Alloy Materials May Be Used in Future Micro-Electromechanical System

Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) is a kind of high-tech device whose size is several millimeters or even smaller. It is a kind of high-tech electromechanical device, which combines photolithography, etching, thin film, LIGA, silicon micro-processing, non-silicon micro-processing and precision machining technology. It is an independent intelligent system.

In the field of new industry, micro-electromechanical systems play an increasingly important role. From driverless cars to a new generation of jet engines to future technologies for offshore oil drilling platforms and gadgets, including the Internet of Things, electrical advances will depend on the performance of these micro-sensors.

Dr. Hermer, a materials scientist and Mechanical Engineer at Johns Hopkins University, led his team to develop some new alloy materials for the fabrication of microelectronics, which can meet the environmental requirements of future jet engines and the Internet of Things.

Researchers'pursuit of new materials has led them to try to develop alloy combinations containing nickel, which are commonly used in advanced structural materials, including nickel-based Superalloys for jet engines. Considering the need for dimensional stability, researchers need to add molybdenum and tungsten to nickel-based metals to inhibit the expansion of pure nickel in heat.

The researchers synthesized nickel-molybdenum-tungsten alloy films by direct current sputtering, forming a strippable film with an average thickness of 29 microns, thinner than human hair. This fully compact and textured film exhibits linear elastic mechanical properties and tensile strength over 3GPa, which is unprecedented for materials compatible with wafer-level device manufacturing processes. Ultra-high strength is attributed to the combination of solution strengthening and high-density nanowires. These films also have excellent thermal and mechanical stability, high density and attractive electrical properties for the next generation of metal MEMS applications.

The research team has proved that these alloy films can withstand high temperature, thermal stability and mechanical stability, and they can be perfectly compatible with other semiconductor wafer materials. It is hopeful that these alloy films will become the material basis for the next generation of micro-electro-mechanical alloying. At present, they are devoting themselves to the research of shaping alloy films into micro-electro-mechanical components.

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