隨著微機電系統的研究熱潮，許多具實用性的產品應用領域已漸趨成熟，舉凡高解析度顯像裝置、多軸加速感知器、高密度資料儲存磁碟、噴墨列表機之噴墨頭及微流體控制裝置等，都可見於商品市場或經期刊文獻詳細討論。在眾多微機電裝置之驅動原理中，靜電力驅動是最常被採用的，藉由兩隔離電極經儲存電荷所產生的靜電力，微機電系統得以完成動作。本論文針對靜電力驅動之微機電元件，進行基礎電崩潰行為之研究與實驗驗證，並將電崩潰理論進行整理分析，後深入探討靜電驅動之微驅動元件電崩潰問題，藉由實驗規劃與靜電場崩潰理論，提出業界所需之設計準則，並佐以實驗數據驗證該準則。
本論文先以派斯欽定律(Paschen’s Law)所揭露之介電崩潰為學理依據，探討氣體壓力及電極距離對崩潰電壓之影響，進而將金屬電極之電崩潰理論推廣至第四族半導體矽晶元及其滲雜晶元，採用習用之微細電極設計及製造技術，針對各電極設計參數進行實驗設計，再行規劃實驗設備及相關實驗技術，同時輔以電腦輔助靜電場分析進行表面粗造度之影響評估；經實驗數據證實於電極間隙為5 □m以下時，場發射效應已顯現於金屬電極間，且因表面粗造度易導致尖端電場集中，而終致崩潰電壓驟降，然矽電極出現相反之結果；故本文之結論提出微機電系統之靜電驅動元件電崩潰設計準則，並建立研究微間隙電崩潰現象之相關實驗驗證方法。

As the research passion for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) continues, many devices have been unveiled in practical industrial applications such as high resolution projection displays, multi-axis accelerometers, high density data-storage disks, ink-jet printing heads, and micro-fluidic control devices. Most of them have been either commercialized or thoroughly reported in the literatures. Among the prominent actuation principles employed in MEMS device, electrostatic actuation has been the dominant method that relies on the forces generated between two conducting electrodes separated by appropriate dielectrics. In this dissertation, fundamental mechanisms for electric breakdown in dielectrics under micron separations have been explored and experimentally investigated. In addition, systematic analysis has been conducted on the basic design and fabrication of micro-electrodes for exploration of electrical breakdown to provide the design guidelines to the industry.
In the study, the fundamental approach has been based upon the Paschen’s Law which states the essential parameters on gas pressure and distance of electrodes. For the MEMS applications, single-crystal silicon and impurity-doped silicon were chosen for serving as the basis of design and fabrication of micro-electrodes with various geometric shapes. Initially, experimental results have shown that when the surface roughness was negligible, field emission effects will gradually dominate the breakdown voltage when the gap is smaller than 5 micron on metal electrodes. On the contrary, the breakdown voltage will go higher when the gap is smaller than 5 micron on both pure and doped silicon-electrodes. Not until the surface roughness of the electrodes starts to pick up electric field concentration, the breakdown voltage gradually decrease in a linear manner as the gap shrinks. In conclusions, this study has proposed the design guidelines for electrostatic actuated MEMS devices as well as elucidated a consolidated experimental method for the study of electric breakdown of dielectric gases with micron separations.

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