Radiation Effects in MEMS/NEMS: Fundamentals and Recent Progress

Micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) have been significant enabling technologies in the ‘More-than-Moore’ paradigm. They have not only directly led to the realization of numerous sensors, actuators, and communication devices in semiconductor industry, but also tremendously facilitated advances in transducers and precision instruments in exploratory research and cutting-edge metrology. When combined with advanced materials, such as SiC, GaN, other related materials, and their heterostructures, MEMS/NEMS transducers are also highly attractive for applications at high temperature, and in harsh and even extreme environments, including exposure to various radiation conditions. In this presentation, I will introduce the fundamentals of radiation effects on solid-state micro/nanomechanical structures, and the important experimental techniques for probing and quantifying such effects. I will then focus on discussing our multidisciplinary team’s collaborative research thrusts (with the ISDE at Vanderbilt University and other collaborators) and recent progress on studying radiation effects of gamma-ray, X-ray, protons, and energetic heavy ions upon various MEMS/NEMS transducers, including switches and multimode resonators with different geometries and dimensions, and including devices made of Si, SiC, GaN, Ga2O3, and 2D semiconductors. Finally, based on the findings, we shall discuss challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives of advancing MEMS/NEMS for emerging applications in space and other radiation environments. Co-sponsored by: CH02167- Northern Virginia/Washington Nanotechnology Council, NANO42 Speaker(s): Prof. Philip Feng, Virtual: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/354073