SiGe: An attractive material for post-CMOS processing of MEMS

This work gives an overview of the different developments for silicon germanium (Sil-Ge-x(x)) from a MEMS post-processing perspective. First, the maximum processing temperature that does not introduce any damage or degradation into the standard characteristics of the CMOS driving electronics is specified. Then, the optimal type of silicon and germanium gas sources and deposition technique that results in an economical process are identified. Next, the selection criteria for a low thermal budget doping method and doping species are discussed. Finally, the advantage and disadvantage for the different approaches implemented for enhancing the physical properties of poly Si1-xGex at a CMOS backend compatible temperature are highlighted. It is shown that the optimal method depends on the application requirements and the CMOS technology used for realizing the driving electronics. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.