Stress investigation of the AlGaN/GaN micromachined circular diaphragms of a pressure sensor

In this paper, selected mechanical properties of a circular AlGaN/GaN diaphragm with an integrated circular high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) intended for pressure sensing are investigated. Two independent methods were used to determine the residual stress in the proposed diaphragms. The resonant frequency method using laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) for vibration measurement was chosen to measure the natural frequencies while the diaphragms were excited by acoustic impulse. It is shown that resonant frequency is strongly dependent on the built-in residual stress. The finite element analysis (FEM) in Ansys software was performed to determine the stress value from frequency spectra measured. The transition behavior of proposed diaphragms between the ideal circular membrane and plate is observed and discussed. Secondly, the bulging method and white light interferometry (WLI) are used to determine the stress-dependent deflection response of the AlGaN/GaN diaphragm under static pressure loading. Regarding the results obtained, the optimal design of the sensing electrodes is outlined.