Graphene's unparalleled strength, chemical stability, ultimate surface-to-volume ratio and excellent electronic properties make it an ideal candidate as a material for membranes in micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS). However, the integration of graphene into MEMS or NEMS devices and suspended structures such as proof masses on graphene membranes raises several technological challenges, including collapse and rupture of the graphene. We have developed a robust route for realizing membranes made of double-layer CVD graphene and suspending large silicon proof masses on membranes with high yields. We have demonstrated the manufacture of square graphene membranes with side lengths from 7 mu m to 110 mu m, and suspended proof masses consisting of solid silicon cubes that are from 5 mu mx5 mu mx16.4 mu m to 100 mu mx100 mu mx16.4 mu m in size. Our approach is compatible with wafer-scale MEMS and semiconductor manufacturing technologies, and the manufacturing yields of the graphene membranes with suspended proof masses were >90%, with >70% of the graphene membranes having >90% graphene area without visible defects. The measured resonance frequencies of the realized structures ranged from tens to hundreds of kHz, with quality factors ranging from 63 to 148. The graphene membranes with suspended proof masses were extremely robust, and were able to withstand indentation forces from an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip of up to 7000nN. The proposed approach for the reliable and large-scale manufacture of graphene membranes with suspended proof masses will enable the development and study of innovative NEMS devices with new functionalities and improved performances.

Metal nanowires can emit coherent polarized thermal radiation, work as uncooled bolometers, and provide localized heating. In this paper, we engineer the temperature dynamics of electrically driven Pt nanoheaters on a silicon-on-insulator substrate. We present three designs and we electrically characterize and model their thermal impedance in the frequency range from 3 Hz to 3 MHz. Finally, we show a temperature modulation of 300 K while consuming less than 5 mW of power, up to a frequency of 1.3 MHz. This result can lead to significant advancements in thermography and absorption spectroscopy.

Graphene membranes act as highly sensitive transducers in nanoelectromechanical devices due to their ultimate thinness. Previously, the piezoresistive effect has been experimentally verified in graphene using uniaxial strain in graphene. Here, we report experimental and theoretical data on the uni- and biaxial piezoresistive properties of suspended graphene membranes applied to piezoresistive pressure sensors. A detailed model that utilizes a linearized Boltzman transport equation describes accurately the charge-carrier density and mobility in strained graphene and, hence, the gauge factor. The gauge factor is found to be practically independent of the doping concentration and crystallographic orientation of the graphene films. These investigations provide deeper insight into the piezoresistive behavior of graphene membranes.

We demonstrate infrared focal plane arrays utilizing monocrystalline silicon/silicon-germanium (Si/SiGe) quantum-well microbolometers that are heterogeneously integrated on top of CMOS-based electronic read-out integrated circuit substrates. The microbolometers are designed to detect light in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) range from 8 to 14 mu m and are arranged in focal plane arrays consisting of 384 x 288 microbolometer pixels with a pixel pitch of 25 mu m x 25 mu m. Focal plane arrays with two different microbolometer designs have been implemented. The first is a conventional single-layer microbolometer design and the second is an umbrella design in which the microbolometer legs are placed underneath the microbolometer membrane to achieve an improved pixel fill-factor. The infrared focal plane arrays are vacuum packaged using a CMOS compatible wafer bonding and sealing process. The demonstrated heterogeneous 3-D integration and packaging processes are implemented atwafer-level and enable independent optimization of the CMOS-based integrated circuits and the microbolometer materials. All manufacturing is done using standard semiconductor and MEMS processes, thus offering a generic approach for integrating CMOS-electronics with complex miniaturized transducer elements.

The majority of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices must be combined with integrated circuits (ICs) for operation in larger electronic systems. While MEMS transducers sense or control physical, optical or chemical quantities, ICs typically provide functionalities related to the signals of these transducers, such as analog-to-digital conversion, amplification, filtering and information processing as well as communication between the MEMS transducer and the outside world. Thus, the vast majority of commercial MEMS products, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and micro-mirror arrays, are integrated and packaged together with ICs. There are a variety of possible methods of integrating and packaging MEMS and IC components, and the technology of choice strongly depends on the device, the field of application and the commercial requirements. In this review paper, traditional as well as innovative and emerging approaches to MEMS and IC integration are reviewed. These include approaches based on the hybrid integration of multiple chips (multi-chip solutions) as well as system-on-chip solutions based on wafer-level monolithic integration and heterogeneous integration techniques. These are important technological building blocks for the ‘More-Than-Moore’ paradigm described in the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. In this paper, the various approaches are categorized in a coherent manner, their merits are discussed, and suitable application areas and implementations are critically investigated. The implications of the different MEMS and IC integration approaches for packaging, testing and final system costs are reviewed.

We present a novel and highly efficient wafer-level batch transfer process for populating silicon (Si) wafers with distributed islands of thin single-crystalline germanium (Ge) layers. This is achieved by transferring Ge from a Si wafer containing thick Ge dies to a Si target wafer by adhesive wafer-bonding and subsequent low-temperature Ge exfoliation.

We demonstrate humidity sensing using a change of the electrical resistance of single-layer chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene that is placed on top of a SiO2 layer on a Si wafer. To investigate the selectivity of the sensor towards the most common constituents in air, its signal response was characterized individually for water vapor (H2O), nitrogen (N-2), oxygen (O-2), and argon (Ar). In order to assess the humidity sensing effect for a range from 1% relative humidity (RH) to 96% RH, the devices were characterized both in a vacuum chamber and in a humidity chamber at atmospheric pressure. The measured response and recovery times of the graphene humidity sensors are on the order of several hundred milliseconds. Density functional theory simulations are employed to further investigate the sensitivity of the graphene devices towards water vapor. The interaction between the electrostatic dipole moment of the water and the impurity bands in the SiO(2)d substrate leads to electrostatic doping of the graphene layer. The proposed graphene sensor provides rapid response direct electrical readout and is compatible with back end of the line (BEOL) integration on top of CMOS-based integrated circuits.

Pressure sensors based on suspended graphene membranes have shown extraordinary sensitivity for uniaxial strains, which originates from graphene's unique electrical and mechanical properties and thinness [1]. This work compares through both theory and experiment the effect of cavity shape and size on the sensitivity of piezoresistive pressure sensors based on suspended graphene membranes. Further, the paper analyzes the effect of both biaxial and uniaxial strain on the membranes. Previous studies examined uniaxial strain through the fabrication of long, rectangular cavities. The present work uses circular cavities of varying sizes in order to obtain data from biaxially strained graphene membranes.

The piezoresistive effect in graphene has been experimentally demonstrated for both uniaxial and biaxial strains. For uniaxial strain, rectangular membranes were measured while circular membranes provided biaxial strain. Gauge factors have also been extracted and compared to previous literature as well as simulations.