Date of Award

2020-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Electrical Engineering

Advisor(s)

David Zubia

Abstract

Over the recent years there has been an increasing demand of better performing electronics. However, as the semiconductor industry keeps on improving and scaling the technology to the nanometer regime, the passive power density has overcome the overall power consumption of transistors. The inability to reduce the power alongside the scaling of transistors has led the scientific community in the search for alternatives or different solutions to overcome this power crisis. The use of two-dimensional Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDCS) and Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) actuators, in conjunction, has been proposed as an alternative solution [1]. Recent studies of TMDCS have shown a very promising potential for future use in electronics. One very interesting property in particular of TMDCs is that they are highly sensitive to strain [2, 3]. On the other side, MEMS offer excellent on/off ratios with very steep transitions as it has been demonstrated in [4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Devices, which exploit the bandgap tunnability of the TMDCs to enhance their conductivity, have not been explored thoroughly. As a result, a MEMS device that takes full advantage of the TMDCS strain properties has been proposed, and shown a potential future for electronic devices [1]. Furthermore, such a device needs a reliable, reproducible, scalable, and ability to offer a promise for future research. In this Thesis, the effort to design, fabricate, and characterize a double anchor beam actuator will be discussed. This work is an important footstep to understand, analyze, and promote the simplification of the fabrication processes involved in a research environment, as well as, the use of Silicon On Insulator (SOI) for this type of application.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

70 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Edgar Acosta

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