Amorphous Mo-N and Mo-Si-N films in microelectromechanical systems

Micromachining based on metallic structural material possesses several inherent advantages. Metallic thin films can be deposited at room temperature by various means. In microelectromechanical systems they can thus be fabricated on top of polymeric sacrificial materials. The sacrificial layer is finally removed in oxygen plasma either before or after wafer dicing with no need for wet processing. However, in metallic micromachining, it is not trivial to find materials and processes producing structural layers with well‐controlled and uniform mechanical characteristics. Amorphous alloys Mo–N and Mo–Si–N are investigated in this study for the purpose, showing properties superior to polycrystalline metals for microelectromechanical devices and systems applications.