An integrated MEMS thermal emitter with piezoelectric actuation

An integrated MEMS thermal emitter with piezoelectric actuation

MOEMS and Miniaturized Systems XXII

10.1117/12.2649536

http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2649536

Nanxi Li, Andrew Whye Keong Fong, Huanhuan Wang, Leh Woon Lim, Landobasa Y. M. Tobing, Yun Da Chua, Linfang Xu, Weiguo Chen, Qingxin Zhang, Hong Cai, Qi Jie Wang, Lennon Y. T. Lee

26 January 2023

Li, N., Fong, A. W. K., Wang, H., Lim, L. W., Tobing, L. Y. M., Chua, Y. D., Xu, L., Chen, W., Zhang, Q., Cai, H., Wang, Q. J., & Lee, L. Y. T. (2023). An integrated MEMS thermal emitter with piezoelectric actuation. In W. Piyawattanametha, Y.-H. Park, & H. Zappe (Eds.), MOEMS and Miniaturized Systems XXII. SPIE. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2649536

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based thermal emitter is a key component in an optical sensor to provide broadband emission at mid-infrared wavelengths, where a lot of molecules have their unique absorption profile. However, the thermal emission from a MEMS emitter is typically fixed at a specific spatial coordinate. In this work, a MEMS thermal emitter with piezoelectric actuation to realize active tuning is demonstrated. Thermal emission comes from a doped silicon layer acting as a resistive heater. Piezoelectric actuation is enabled by an aluminum nitride layer on a designed cantilever. The devices are fabricated on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible process line. The fabricated thermal emitter at the tip of the cantilever generates broadband MIR thermal emission with spectrum peaked around 10 μm wavelength, and piezoelectric actuation with a displacement of more than 20 μm. The work paves the way towards self-adaptable MEMS directional emitter for various applications including chemical/gas sensing.

Publisher Copyright

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - IAF-PP - Integrated Photonics Based Gas Sensor
Grant Reference no. : A1789a0024

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - IAF-PP - Novel PAT Sensors
Grant Reference no. : A19B3a00080

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - IAF-Programmatic
Grant Reference no. : A18A7b0058

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore - Competitive Research Programme
Grant Reference no. : NRF-CRP19-2017-01

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - Singapore-Germany joint grant call
Grant Reference no. : A2090b0144

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https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/20218

NA

Institute of Microelectronics