Award Abstract #0304472
NIRT: Science and Technology of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Films for Multifunctional MEMS/NEMS Devices

NSF Org:	CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation
Initial Amendment Date:	August 25, 2003
Latest Amendment Date:	June 5, 2007
Award Number:	0304472
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Ken Chong CMMI Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation ENG Directorate for Engineering
Start Date:	September 1, 2003
Expires:	August 31, 2008 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$1325000
Investigator(s):	Zhen Chen chenzh@missouri.edu (Principal Investigator) Orlando Auciello (Co-Principal Investigator) Ted Belytschko (Co-Principal Investigator) Horacio Espinosa (Co-Principal Investigator) Mark Hersam (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	University of Missouri-Columbia 310 JESSE HALL COLUMBIA, MO 65211 573/882-7560
NSF Program(s):	NANO AND BIO MECHANICS, NANOSCALE: INTRDISCPL RESRCH T, MATERIALS AND SURFACE ENG, MECHANICS OF MATERIALS, ELECT, PHOTONICS, & DEVICE TEC
Field Application(s):	0308000 Industrial Technology
Program Reference Code(s):	MANU, AMPP, 9163, 9161, 9146, 1674, 028E, 027E, 022E
Program Element Code(s):	7479, 1674, 1633, 1630, 1517

ABSTRACT

NIRT: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ULTRANANOCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND FILMS

FOR MULTIFUNCTIONAL MEMS/NEMS DEVICES

The objectives of this three-year NIRT project are to investigate microstructure-mechanical-electronic transport property relationships of a new multifunctional material designated as ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD), and to utilize this material in novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). While silicon has been the dominant material in the microelectronics revolution of the 20 th Century, carbon in its various forms, especially diamond, may be a dominant material in the 21 st Century; particularly, in the MEMS/NEMS revolution currently underway.

New methods of chemical vapor deposition recently developed by this team make possible the

manufacturing of the UNCD films that exhibit unique and outstanding properties such as high hardness, high fracture strength, high Young's modulus, extremely low friction coefficient and high wear resistance, negligible stiction, low residual stress in as-deposited thin films, unique field electron-emission properties, a wide range of conductivity controlled by microstructure and doping, and highly conformal films, which are all crucial to the development of novel MEMS/NEMS applications. Through interdisciplinary efforts of the team members from Northwestern University (NU), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC), in collaboration with Argonne and Sandia National Laboratories (ANL and SNL), an integrated experimental, analytical and computational program is proposed here with the following main research topics:

1. Scan probe microscopy approaches, including conductive atomic force microcopy and ultra high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, for nanoscale characterization of surface structure and conductivity of UNCD films, that will enable the microstructure to be ascertained for films made with various dopings;

2. Investigation of mechanical properties, such as Young's modulus, hardness, plasticity, and fracture, of UNCD with varying degrees of doping, at the microlevel using a recently developed membrane deflection experiment, and at the nanolevel by means of a novel MEMS loading device that can operate in-situ surface probe and electron microscopes; and

3. Study of the relationship between nanostucture and electro-mechanical properties of UNCD films via modeling and simulation with combined molecular/continuum approaches.

The above interdisciplinary research efforts would make an intellectual contribution to understanding the relationship between grain size-grain boundary chemistry and electro-mechanical properties of UNCD at the nanoscale. In particular, the atomic-scale information suitable to unraveling the electronic conduction mechanism in UNCD and the effect of its microstructure on this phenomenon will be obtained, which can be positively used to design MEMS/NEMS devices. In this regard, the following two applications will be developed in collaboration with national laboratories and industry:

o Arrays of cantilevers with UNCD tips for conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM), and

o MEMS switches/Nanoresonators made of conductive UNCD membranes for wireless communication and other electronic scanning applications.

The educational part of this NIRT includes the following components, which could impact the multi-level teaching-learning process in nanoscale science and engineering:

Outreach to educators from community colleges and high schools: Teaching materials will be

developed during a summer workshop in the area of micro and nano technologies.

Research Experience for Graduate and Undergraduate Students: In collaboration with two other major programs at NU, NSF-NSEC and MRSEC, and with national laboratories, undergraduate participants will engage in full-time research for a nine-week period over the summer. In particular, coordinated tours to ANL and frequent group meetings will be made to allow for the interaction among graduate and undergraduate students involved in this NIRT program.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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B. Peng, H.D. Espinosa, N. Moldovan, X. Xiao, O. Auciello, and J.A. Carlisle.  "Fracture Size Effect in UNCD - Applicability of Weibull Theory,"  Journal of Materials Research,  v.22,  2007,  p. 913.

B. Peng, N. Pugno, and H.D. Espinosa.  "An Analysis of the Membrane Deflection Experiment Used in the Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Freestanding Submicron Thin Films,"  International Journal of Solids and Structures,  v.43,  2006,  p. 3292.

Chen, Z., Shen, L., Dai, H., and Gan, Y..  "Recent Efforts in Modeling Combined Rate, Size and Thermal Effects on Single Crystal Strength,"  Review on Advanced Materials Science,  v.11,  2006,  p. 34.

Chen, Z., Shen, L., Gan, Y., and Fang, H.E.  "A Hyper-Surface for the Combined Loading Rate and Specimen Size Effects on the Material Properties,"  International Journal for Multiscale Computational Engineering,  v.3,  2005,  p. 451.

Chen, Z., Shen, L., Mai, Y.-W., and Shen, Y.-G..  "A Bifurcation-based Decohesion Model for Simulating the Transition from Localization to Decohesion with the MPM,"  Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics (ZAMP),  v.56,  2005,  p. 908.

H.D. Espinosa and B. Peng.  "A New Methodology to Investigate Fracture Toughness of Freestanding Thin Films and MEMS Materials,"  Journal of MicroElectroMechanical Systems,  v.14,  2005,  p. 153.

H.D. Espinosa, B. Peng, B.C. Prorok, N. Moldovan, O. Auciello, J.A. Carlisle, D.M. Gruen, and D.C. Mancini.  "Fracture Strength of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Thin films - Identification of Weibull Parameters,"  Journal of Applied Physics,  v.94,  2003,  p. 6076.

H.D. Espinosa, B. Peng, N. Moldovan, X. Xiao, O. Auciello, and J.A. Carlisle.  "Mechanical Properties of Undoped and Doped Ultrananocrystalline Diamond - Elasticity, Strength and Toughness,"  Ultrananocrystalline Diamond: Syntheses, Properties, and Applications. Edited by O. Shenderova and D. Gruen, William Andrew Publishing, Norwich, NY.,  2006,  p. 303.

H.D. Espinosa, B.C. Prorok, B. Peng, K.-H. Kim, N. Moldovan, O. Auciello, J.A. Carlisle, D.M. Gruen, and D.C. Mancini.  "Mechanical Properties of Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Thin Films Relevant to MEMS Devices,"  Experimental Mechanics,  v.43,  2003,  p. 256.

H.D. Espinosa, B.Peng, N. Moldovan, T.A. Friedmann, X. Xiao, D.C. Mancini, O. Auciello, J. Carlisle, C.A. Zorman, and M. Merhegany.  "Elasticity, Strength and Toughness of Single Crystal Silicon Carbide, Ultrananocrystalline Diamond, and Hydrogen-free Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon,"  Applied Physics Letters,  v.89,  2006,  p. 073111.

J. Birrell, J. E. Gerbi, O. Auciello, D.M. Gruen, and J. A. Carlisle.  "Bonding Structure in Nitrogen Doped Ultrananocrystalline Diamond,"  Journal of Applied Physics,  v.93,  2003,  p. 5606.

Jeffrey T. Paci, Lipeng Sun, T. Belytschko, and George C. Schatz.  "Fracture Paths and Ultrananocrystalline Diamond,"  Chem. Phys. Lett,  v.403,  2005,  p. 16.

Jeffrey T. Paci, Lipeng Sun, Ted Belytschko, and George C. Schatz.  "Fracture paths and ultrananocrystalline diamond,"  Chem. Phys. Lett.,  v.403,  2005,  p. 16.

Jeffrey T. Paci, Ted Belytschko and George C. Schatz.  "The mechanical properties of single-crystal and ultrananocrystalline diamond: a theoretical study,"  Chem. Phys. Lett.,  v.414,  2005,  p. 351.

Jeffrey T. Paci, Ted Belytschko, and George C. Schatz.  "The mechanical properties of ultrananocrystalline diamond prepared in a nitrogen-rich plasma: A theoretical study,"  Phys. Rev. B,  v.74,  2006,  p. 184112/1-.

Jeffrey T. Paci, Ted Belytschko, and George C. Schatz.  "The mechanical properties of single-crystal and ultrananocrystalline diamond: A theoretical study,"  Chem. Phys. Lett.,  v.414,  2005,  p. 351.

L. S. C. Pingree and M. C. Hersam.  "Bridge enhanced nanoscale impedance microscopy,"  Appl. Phys. Lett.,  v.87,  2005,  p. 233117.

L. S. C. Pingree, E. F. Martin, K. R. Shull, and M. C. Hersam.  "Nanoscale impedance microscopy: A characterization tool for nanoelectronic devices and circuits,"  IEEE T. Nanotechnol.,  v.4,  2005,  p. 255.

L. S. C. Pingree, E. F. Martin, K. R. Shull, and M. C. Hersam.  "Nanoscale impedance microscopy: A characterization tool for nanoelectronic devices and circuits,"  IEEE T. Nanotechnology,  v.4,  2005,  p. 255.

L. Shen, and Z. Chen.  "An Investigation of the Effect of Interfacial Atomic Potential on the Stress Transition in Thin Films,"  Modeling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 12, pp. 1-23, 2004.,  v.12,  2004,  p. S347.


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