Impact of thermal stresses on micro-fabricated devices used for optical applications

Abstract

Thermal stresses induced during thin film deposition processes usually have important effects on the functionality and reliability of the microdevices used in optical applications. All surface-micromachined thin films are subject to thermal stresses that are usually observed on a substrate when thin film is evaporated on it and when it cools down to a room temperature. This paper presents a surface-micromachined membrane and its numerical model. Comsol Multiphysics is used for comparison of eigenfrequencies of the structure including and excluding thermal stresses.