Date of Award

3-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

First Advisor

Hengky Chandrahalim, PhD

Abstract

As the use of MEMS becomes more prolific in air, space, defense, and power applications, they will be exposed to more extreme radiation environments. This dissertation explores the effects of ionizing and nonionizing radiation on MEMS. AlN-on-Si based piezoelectric bulk acoustic wave resonators were irradiated by gamma-rays and silicon ions while measuring S-parameters in situ. Changes to the resonator and equivalent circuit parameters are extracted. The resonators demonstrated resilience against the effects of radiation-induced charge trapping. However, radiation-induced atomic displacements caused shifts to resonant frequency. From these data, an atomistic model is derived to describe the relationship between radiation type and its effects on MEMS material parameters, including effective elastic modulus and piezoelectric coefficient. Radiation-induced atomic displacement damage decreases the effective elastic modulus of the resonator material by as much as 130 ppm in space radiation environments to as much as 6200 ppm in a heavy ion irradiation environment.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENG-DS-23-M-041

Comments

A 12-month embargo was observed.

Approved for public release. Case number on file.

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