Kelvin probe microscopy for reliability investigation of RF-MEMS capacitive switches

In this work, we investigate the charging and reliability of interlayer dielectric materials that are used in the fabrication process of advanced RF-MEMS switches. In particular, the charge stored on the surface of a dielectric and the dynamic of this charge at nanometric scale are studied. More attention is given to the decay of the deposited charge by a variety of means: (1) surface conduction, (2) surface charge spreading due to self repulsion and (3) charge injection in the bulk of dielectric material. Kelvin force microscopy (KFM) measurements were performed for various injection time and bias voltage. These results suggest a dynamic charge and allow to predict the amount of charge injected into the dielectric. (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.