Atomic layer deposited alumina (Al2O3) thin films on a high-Q mechanical silicon oscillator

In this paper, the influence of the atomic layer deposited alumina (Al2O3) thin films on the dynamics of a high-Q mechanical silicon oscillator was experimentally studied. The resonance frequency and Q value of uncoated oscillators used in this work were about f0 = 27 kHz and Q = 100 000 at p < 10−2 mbar and T = 300 K. Deposited alumina film thicknesses varied from 5 to 662 nm. It is demonstrated that the resonance frequency of the mechanical oscillator increases with the film thickness because the added alumina films effectively stiffen the oscillator structure. In addition, it is shown that alumina thin films with thickness up to 100 nm can be deposited on microfabricated mechanical resonant structures without degrading the initially high quality (Q value) of the resonance. The resonance frequency of the silicon oscillator was less sensitive to the changes in ambient temperature with thicker alumina coatings. The reflectivity of silicon at 633 nm was reduced from RSi = 0.35 to RAR = 0.035 by coating the silicon oscillator with an alumina film whose thickness corresponds to the quarter of the optical wavelength serving as a single-layer anti-reflection coating.