Les MEMS et NEMS résonants sont d'excellents candidats pour la réalisation de systèmes de détection de gaz haute résolution et faible couts ayant des applications dans les domaines de la sécurité, la défense, l'environnement et la santé. Cependant, la question du choix des techniques de transduction est toujours largement débattue. La transduction piézoélectrique pourrait être avantageusement exploitée mais elle est encore peu connue à l'échelle nanométrique. L'objectif de cette thèse est donc de progresser vers la réalisation de capteur de gaz à haute résolution à l'aide résonateurs à base de micro / nano poutres piézoélectriques en couvrant la chaîne de prototypage complète depuis les techniques de dépôt des matériaux jusqu'à l'expérience de preuve de principe de mesure de gaz. Pour cela, notre première contribution concerne la modélisation analytique des performances et l'optimisation, design et système, d'un capteur de gaz à base de poutres résonantes piézoélectriques. En particulier, nous démontrons que la diminution de l'épaisseur du film piézoélectrique actif sous la barre des 100 nm permet d'atteindre les meilleures performances. La deuxième contribution concerne la fabrication, la caractérisation et la démonstration des performances capteur de poutres résonantes de 80 μm de long exploitant un film piézoélectrique en AlN de 50 nm d'épais. Ainsi nous avons démontré expérimentalement la stabilité fréquentielle exceptionnelle de ces dispositifs atteignant des déviations standard de l'ordre de 〖10〗^(-8), au niveau de l’état de l'art. Ainsi, ils permettent la détection de vapeurs Di -Methyl -méthyl- phosphonates, un simulateur de gaz sarin, avec des concentrations aussi faibles que 10 ppb. Bien que le niveau d'intégration de notre système de détection ne soit pas suffisant, ces résultats prouvent le fort potentiel de ces résonateurs cantilever piézoélectriques pour un développement industriel futur. / Resonant MEMS and NEMS are excellent candidate for the realization of low cost and high resolution gas sensing systems that have several applications in security, defense, and environment and health care domains. However, the question of the transduction technique used to couple micro or nano scale signals to the macro scale is still a key issue. Piezoelectric transduction can be advantageously exploited but has been rarely studied at the nano-scale. The objective of this PhD is thus to progress toward the realization of high-resolution gas sensor using piezoelectric micro/nano cantilevers resonators and cover the whole prototyping chain from device fabrication to proof of principle experiment. Our first contribution in this research relates the analytical modeling of the sensing performance and the system and design optimization. In particular we demonstrate that decreasing the piezoelectric active film thickness below 100 nm is particularly beneficial. The second contribution relates the fabrication, characterization and demonstration of the high sensing performances of 80 μm long cantilevers embedding a 50 nm thick piezoelectric AlN film for transduction. These devices exhibit state of the art performances in terms of resonance frequency deviation down to the 〖10〗^(-8) range. They allow thus the detection of Di-Methyl-Methyl-Phosphonate vapors, a sarin gas simulant, with concentration as low as 10 ppb. Although the level of integration of our sensing system is not sufficient for real life application, these results prove the high potential of these piezoelectric cantilever resonators for future industrial development.

La détection des déplacements nano-mécaniques par les techniques de transport électronique a atteint un haut niveau de sensibilité et de polyvalence. Afin de détecter l'amplitude d'oscillation d'un oscillateur nano-mécanique, une technique largement utilisée consiste à coupler ce mouvement de façon capacitive à un transistor à un seul électron ou, plus généralement, à un dispositif de transport, et à détecter la modulation haute fréquence du courant à travers le mélange non linéaire avec un signal électrique à une fréquence légèrement désaccordée. Cette méthode, connue sous le nom de technique de mélange des courants, est utilisée notamment pour la détection de nanotubes de carbone suspendus et s'est avérée particulièrement efficace, ce qui a permis d'obtenir des records de sensibilité dans la détection de masse et de force. Dans cette thèse nous étudions théoriquement les conditions qui limitent la sensibilité de cette méthode dans différents types de dispositifs de transport. La sensibilité est un compromis entre le bruit, le bruit de rétroaction et la fonction de réponse. Cette dernière est proportionnel au couplage électromécanique. Pour ces raisons dans la thèse, nous étudions la fonction de réponse, l'effet des fluctuations de courant et de déplacement (back-action) dans les dispositifs de détection suivants: (i) le transistor métallique à électron unique, (ii) le transistor à un seul niveau électronique et (iii) le point quantique cohérent. La sensibilité optimale est obtenue, comme d'habitude, lorsque la rétroaction du dispositif de détection est égale au bruit du signal intrinsèque, ce qui, dans notre cas, est le bruit en courant. Nous avons constaté que les valeurs optimales typiques du couplage sont obtenues dans la limite de couplage fort, où une forte renormalisation de la fréquence de résonance est observée et une bistabilité de l'oscillateur mécanique est présente [comme discuté dans G. Micchi, R. Avriller, F. Pistolesi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 206802 (2015)]. Nous trouvons donc des limites supérieures à la sensibilité de la technique de détection de mélange des courants. Nous considérons également comment la technique du mélange des courants est modifiée dans la limite où le taux de transmission tunnel devient comparable à la fréquence de résonance de l'oscillateur mécanique / Detection of nanomechanical displacement by electronic transport techniques has reached a high level of sensitivity and versatility. In order to detect the amplitude of oscillation of a nanomechanical oscillator, a widely used technique consists of coupling this motion capacitively to a single-electron transistor or, more generally, to a transport device, and to detect the high-frequency modulation of the current through the nonlinear mixing with an electric signal at a slightly detuned frequency. This method, known as mixing-current technique, is employed in particular for the detection of suspended carbon nanotubes and has proven to be particularly successful leading to record sensitivities of mass and force detection. In this thesis we study theoretically the limiting conditions on the sensitivity of this method in different kind of transport devices. The sensitivity is a compromise between the noise, the back-action noise, and the response function. The latter is proportional to the electromechanical coupling. For these reasons in the thesis we study the response function, the effect of current and displacement (back-action) fluctuations for the following detection devices: (i) the metallic single electron transistor, (ii) the single-electronic level single electron transistor, and (iii) the coherent transport quantum dot. The optimal sensitivity is obtained, as usual, when the back-action of the detection device equals the intrinsic signal noise that, in our case, is the current noise. We found that the typical optimal values of the coupling are obtained in the strong coupling limit, where a strong renormalization of the resonating frequency is observed and a bistability of the mechanical oscillator is present [as discussed in G. Micchi, R. Avriller, F. Pistolesi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 206802 (2015)]. We thus find upper bounds to the sensitivity of the mixing-current detection technique. We also consider how the mixing-current technique is modified in the limit where the tunneling rate becomes comparable to the resonating frequency of the mechanical oscillator.

This thesis presents an introduction to the design and simulation of a novel class of integrated photonic phased array switch elements. The main objective is to use nano-electromechanical (NEMS) based phase shifters of cascaded under-etched slot nanowires that are compact in size and require a small amount of power to operate them. The structure of the switch elements is organized such that it brings the phase shifting elements to the exterior sides of the photonic circuits. The transition slot couplers, used to interconnect the phase shifters, are designed to enable biasing one of the silicon beams of each phase shifter from an electrode located at the side of the phase shifter. The other silicon beam of each phase shifter is biased through the rest of the silicon structure of the switch element, which is taken as a ground. Phased array switch elements ranging from 2×2 up to 8×8 multiple-inputs/multiple-outputs (MIMO) are conveniently designed within reasonable footprints native to the current fabrication technologies. Chapter one presents the general layout of the various designs of the switch elements and demonstrates their novel features. This demonstration will show how waveguide disturbances in the interconnecting network from conventional switch elements can be avoided by adopting an innovative design. Some possible applications for the designed switch elements of different sizes and topologies are indicated throughout the chapter. Chapter two presents the design of the multimode interference (MMI) couplers used in the switch elements as splitters, combiners and waveguide crossovers. Simulation data and design methodologies for the multimode couplers of interest are detailed in this chapter. Chapter three presents the design and analysis of the NEMS-operated phase shifters. Both simulations and numerical analysis are utilized in the design of a 0º-180º capable NEMS-operated phase shifter. Additionally, the response of some of the designed photonic phased array switch elements is demonstrated in this chapter. An executive summary and conclusions sections are also included in the thesis.

This thesis presents an introduction to the design and simulation of a novel class of integrated photonic phased array switch elements. The main objective is to use nano-electromechanical (NEMS) based phase shifters of cascaded under-etched slot nanowires that are compact in size and require a small amount of power to operate them. The structure of the switch elements is organized such that it brings the phase shifting elements to the exterior sides of the photonic circuits. The transition slot couplers, used to interconnect the phase shifters, are designed to enable biasing one of the silicon beams of each phase shifter from an electrode located at the side of the phase shifter. The other silicon beam of each phase shifter is biased through the rest of the silicon structure of the switch element, which is taken as a ground. Phased array switch elements ranging from 2×2 up to 8×8 multiple-inputs/multiple-outputs (MIMO) are conveniently designed within reasonable footprints native to the current fabrication technologies. Chapter one presents the general layout of the various designs of the switch elements and demonstrates their novel features. This demonstration will show how waveguide disturbances in the interconnecting network from conventional switch elements can be avoided by adopting an innovative design. Some possible applications for the designed switch elements of different sizes and topologies are indicated throughout the chapter. Chapter two presents the design of the multimode interference (MMI) couplers used in the switch elements as splitters, combiners and waveguide crossovers. Simulation data and design methodologies for the multimode couplers of interest are detailed in this chapter. Chapter three presents the design and analysis of the NEMS-operated phase shifters. Both simulations and numerical analysis are utilized in the design of a 0º-180º capable NEMS-operated phase shifter. Additionally, the response of some of the designed photonic phased array switch elements is demonstrated in this chapter. An executive summary and conclusions sections are also included in the thesis.

Three-dimensional (3D) integration of micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) with integrated circuits (ICs) is an emerging technology that offers great advantages over conventional state-of-the-art microelectronics. MEMS and NEMS are most commonly employed as sensor and actuator components that enable a vast array of functionalities typically not attainable by conventional ICs. 3D integration of NEMS and ICs also contributes to more compact device footprints, improves device performance, and lowers the power consumption. Therefore, 3D integration of NEMS and ICs has been proposed as a promising solution to the end of Moore’s law, i.e. the slowing advancement of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology.In this Ph.D. thesis, I propose a comprehensive fabrication methodology for heterogeneous 3D integration of NEM devices directly on top of CMOS circuits. In heterogeneous integration, the NEMS and CMOS components are fully or partially fabricated on separate substrates and subsequently merged into one. This enables process flexibility for the NEMS components while maintaining full compatibility with standard CMOS fabrication. The first part of this thesis presents an adhesive wafer bonding method using ultra-thin intermediate bonding layers which is utilized for merging the NEMS components with the CMOS substrate. In the second part, a novel NEM switch concept is introduced and the performance of CMOS-integrated NEM switch circuits for logic and computation applications is discussed. The third part examines two different packaging approaches for integrated MEMS and NEMS devices with either hermetic vacuum cavities or low-cost glass lids for optical applications. Finally, a novel fabrication approach for through silicon vias (TSVs) by magnetic assembly is presented, which is used to establish an electrical connection from the packaged devices to the outside world. / Tredimensionell (3D) integration av mikro- och nano-elektromekaniska system (MEMS/NEMS) med integrerade kretsar (ICs) är en ny teknik som erbjuder stora fördelar jämfört med konventionell mikroelektronik. MEMS och NEMS används oftast som sensorer och aktuatorer då de möjliggör många funktioner som inte kan uppnås med vanliga ICs.3D-integration av NEMS och ICs bidrar även till mindre dimensioner, ökade prestanda och mindre energiförbrukning av elektriska komponenter. Den nuvarande tekniken för complementary metal-oxide-semicondictor (CMOS) närmar sig de fundamentala gränserna vilket drastiskt begränsar utvecklingsmöjligheten för mikroelektronik och medför slutet på Moores lag. Därför har 3D-integration identifierats som en lovande teknik för att kunna driva vidare utvecklingen för framtidens elektriska komponenter.I denna avhandling framläggs en omfattande fabrikationsmetodik för heterogen 3D-integration av NEMS ovanpå CMOS-kretsar. Heterogen integration betyder att både NEMS- och CMOS-komponenter byggs på separata substrat för att sedan förenas på ett enda substrat. Denna teknik tillåter full processfrihet för tillverkning av NEMS-komponenter och garanterar kompatibilitet med standardiserade CMOS-fabrikationsprocesser.I den första delen av avhandlingen beskrivs en metod för att sammanfoga två halvledarskivor med en extremt tunn adhesiv polymer. Denna metod demonstreras för 3D-integration av NEMS- och CMOS-komponenter. Den andra delen introducerar ett nytt koncept för NEM-switchar och dess användning i NEM-switch-baserade mikrodatorchip. Den tredje delen presenterar två olika inkapslingsmetoder för MEMS och NEMS. Den ena metoden fokuserar på hermetisk vakuuminkapsling medan den andra metoden beskriver en lågkostnadsstrategi för inkapsling av optiska komponenter. Slutligen i den fjärde delen presenteras en ny fabrikationsteknik för så kallade ”through silicon vias” (TSVs) baserad på magnetisk självmontering av nickeltråd på mikrometerskala. / <p>20170519</p>

With the advent of micro and nano electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), there has been rapid development in the design and fabrication of sensitive resonant sensors. Sensitivity of such devices depends on the resonant frequency and the quality factor (Q). The Q of these devices are dependent on process induced prestress in the structural geometry, interaction with the external environment, and the encapsulation method. For high frequency sensors operating in air and under encapsulation condition, the Q is dominated by structural and fluid-structure interaction losses. In this thesis, we set out to study the dominant energy dissipative mechanisms that are constituent of the experimentally observed loss (Q-factor) in two specific test geometries—uncapped and capped circular MEMS drumhead resonators. Considering the importance of various factors, we consider four important problems pertaining to the uncapped as well as capped resonators. In the first problem, the most important factors perhaps are the acoustic radiation losses emanating from the annular plate, and the effect of added mass effect on the natural frequencies of the annular plate. The second problem is to investigate the dominant contribution of squeeze film losses and acoustic radiation losses with respect to various natural frequencies of the annular plate. The third problem is to consider the effect of prestress on the natural frequencies of the annular plate and its associated fluid-structure interaction losses (quality factors due to squeeze film damping and acoustic radiation losses). The fourth problem is to study the dominant fluid-structure interaction losses and structural losses that are constituent of experimentally measured Q-factors of the encapsulated annular plate (conceptual representation of MEMS device under packaged conditions). In the first problem, we study the mode dependent acoustic radiation losses in an uncapped drumhead microresonator which is represented by a annular circular plate fixed at its outer edge, suspended over a fixed substrate. There are two main effects which are associated with such systems due to the fluid-structure interaction. First is the “added mass effect,” which reduces the effective resonance frequency of the structure. The second is the acoustic radiation loss from the top side of the resonator, that affects the quality factor of the vibrating structure. In deriving the analytical solution, we first obtain the exact mode shapes of the structure ignoring any effect of the surrounding fluid (air) on the mode shape. Subsequently, we use these mode shapes to study the effect of the surrounding fluid on the associated natural frequencies and the Q-factor. The effect of “added mass” on the frequencies of the structure is found to be negligible. However, the acoustic radiation losses found to be significant. Additionally, we found that the variation in Qac over the first few modes (< 40 MHz) is marked with a local maximum and a minimum. Beyond this range, Qac increases monotonically over the higher frequency modes. It is also found that such kind of variation can be described using different acoustics parameters. Finally, comparing the acoustics radiation loss based quality factor with the experimental results for the uncapped drumhead resonator, the acoustic damping dominates only at higher modes. Therefore, our second problem forms the basis of finding other fluid-related damping. In the second problem, we explore the fluid losses due to squeeze film damping in the uncapped drumhead micro resonator. In this case, the squeeze film loss is due to the flow of the fluid film between the bottom surface of the annular plate and the fixed substrate. Based on the literature survey, it is found that the squeeze film damping reduces with increase in the air-gap thickness and the operating frequencies respectively. However, the squeeze film effect can not be ignored at lower frequencies. In order to investigate the contribution of squeeze film damping in uncapped resonator, we determine squeeze-film damping based quality factor Qsq corresponding to different modes of the resonators using FEM based software, ANSYS. On comparing Qsq with the experiments, we found that Qsq matches well with the experiments corresponding to the lower modes. Therefore, it is found that Qsq dominates at low frequencies (< 20 MHz) and Qac plays significant role at high frequencies (> 40 MHz). Both types of damping should be considered while modeling the fluid damping in uncapped resonator. In the next study, we discuss the effects of prestress on the resonant frequencies and quality factor. In the third study, we discuss the applicability of thin-plate theory with prestress and membrane theory in computing the frequencies and quality factor due to acoustic and squeeze film losses in the uncapped drumhead resonator. In the first two studies, although the quality factor due to acoustic losses and the squeeze film captures the correct trend of the experimental results, there is a mismatch between the experimental and theoretical frequencies computed with added mass effect. In order to improve the computation of frequencies corresponding to measured modes, we first used membrane theory to predict the frequencies, and finally we quantify that there exists discrepancy between computed and the corresponding experimental frequencies with error of about 8–55%. Since, both the membrane as well as thin plate theory without prestress do not correctly model the frequencies, we used the thin plate theory with prestress. For a prestress level of 96 MPa, we found the match between the computed frequencies and the corresponding quality factors with the measured values. However, we also found that there exists strong dependence of prestress on the acoustic radiation loss, with decrease in the acoustic loss based quality factors with increase in the prestress level. In the subsequent problem, we focus on the computation of losses in capped drumhead resonator which leads to a design possibility of improving the quality factor by containing the acoustic radiation losses. In the fourth problem, we study the structural and fluid-structure interaction losses which are dominant constituent of net Q-factor observed in experiments due to encapsulation of uncapped drumhead resonator. Essentially, the geometry of the capped resonator constitutes upper and lower cavities subjected to fluid-structure interaction losses on both sides of the annular plate. The dominant fluid-structure interaction loss is found to be due to squeezing action acting simultaneously in the upper and lower cavities. However, as we go to the higher modes, squeeze film damping become very small and the damping due to structure related losses such as clamping and thermoelastic losses becomes significant. We found the thermoelastic damping to be the dominant source of structural damping at higher resonant modes, whereas, the clamping losses are found to be relatively smaller. Finally, on comparing the net quality factor with the experimental results, we observed that the squeeze film losses are dominant at lower frequencies, and thermoelastic losses dominate at the higher frequencies. However, there remains some discrepancy between theoretical and experimental Q-factors particularly over higher frequency range. Such discrepancy may be due to some unaccounted factors which may be explored to improve the modeling of damping in capped resonators. The emphasis of this work has been towards developing a comprehensive understanding of different dominant dissipative mechanisms, classified into the fluid-structure interaction and the structural losses, that are constituent of the Q-factor at various resonant modes of uncapped and capped drumhead resonators.

Different methods for the determination of cantilever properties in non-contact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) are under investigation. A key aspect is the determination of the cantilever stiffness being essential for a quantitative NC-AFM data analysis including the extraction of the tip-surface interaction force and potential. Furthermore, a systematic analysis of the displacement noise in the cantilever oscillation detection is performed with a special focus on the thermally excited cantilever oscillation. The propagation from displacement noise to frequency shift noise is studied under consideration of the frequency response of the PLL demodulator. The effective Q-factor of cantilevers depends on the internal damping of the cantilever as well as external influences like the ambient pressure and the quality of the cantilever fixation. While the Q-factor has a strong dependence on the ambient pressure between vacuum and ambient pressure yielding a decrease by several orders of magnitude, the pressure dependence of the resonance frequency is smaller than 1% for the same pressure range. On the other hand, the resonance frequency highly depends on the mass of the tip at the end of the cantilever making its reliable prediction from known cantilever dimensions difficult. The cantilever stiffness is determined with a high-precision static measurement method and compared to dimensional and dynamic methods. Dimensional methods suffer from the uncertainty of the measured cantilever dimensions and require a precise knowledge its material properties. A dynamic method utilising the measurement of the thermally excited cantilever displacement noise to obtain cantilever properties allows to characterise unknown cantilevers but requires an elaborative measurement equipment for spectral displacement noise analysis. Having the noise propagation in the NC-AFM system fully characterised, a proposed method allows for spring constant determination from the frequency shift noise at the output of the PLL demodulator with equipment already being available in most NC-AFM setups.