Fabrication and characterization of a novel zinc oxide thin film piezoelectric

microcantilever with wet etching and lift off methods

Deepak Bhatia1,3), Himanshu Sharma2), R.S.Meena3, C.V. Tomy2, V.R Palkar1

1
Department of Electrical Engineering and Centre for Excellence in Nanoelectronics, Indian Institute of
Technology Bombay, Mumbai-400076, India.
2
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai-400076, India.
3
Department of Electronics Engineering, Rajasthan Technical University, Kota-324010, India.

Abstract

Zinc Oxide Thin Film is a promising piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film was

deposited using dielectric (RF magnetron) sputtering method. The crystalline structures, surface roughness

(morphology) and charge reversal of ZnO film were evaluated by X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron

microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. It was found that the deposited ZnO film has a

preferred ZnO (002) orientation and the c-axis is perpendicular to the substrate surface. The grain size in the ZnO thin

film was found to be of the order of 35-40 nm, with a columnar structure. This novel ZnO thin film microcantilever

was fabricated by micromachining technique and wet etching of Si (TMAH) to release the cantilever. The functioning

of the released device was tested by the Laser Doppler Vibrometer (Polytec MSA-500) using variation in applied

voltage. The transverse piezoelectric coefficients d 31 of the ZnO film, obtained from the deflection of the cantilever

with influence of applied voltage, was calculated as 2.87 pC/N. The observed dynamic characterization of the novel

piezoelectric microcantilever had linear response with the applied driving voltage. The obtained values of Young

Modulus and Hardness are 208±4 GPa and 4.84± 0.1 GPa respectively. This microcantilever may be used to fabricate

the smart slider with inbuilt sensor/actuator and energy scavengers for replacing traditional batteries (In wireless

sensors network) with low resonant frequency and high power output.

Keywords: Tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH), Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV)

1. Introduction paper focuses on the fabrication and characterization of

With advancement in technology, the power demand novel ZnO thin film microcantilever energy scavenger

of individual devices has drastically come down. using the simple and inexpensive wet etching method.

Therefore energy scavenging method which is used to To convert electrical power into mechanical energy, i.e.

convert vibration energy into useful output electrical force and displacement, the converse piezoelectric effect

power has been observed as a promising solution. This has been utilized in piezoelectric cantilever actuators.

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1
 Typical applications of piezoelectric cantilever actuators flexibility in processing ZnO thin films can be deposited

includes, ultrasonic motors, explosive detectors, probe at room temperature with varieties of acidic etchants are

tips of atomic-force microscopy (AFM), hard disk drives also available [5]. ZnO is an n-type semiconductor with

suspensions, nanodevices like sensors and power a wide direct band of 3⋅3 eV (at room temperature) good

generators, with ease and flexibility in operation [1–2]. electron transporting properties and solution-based

Piezoelectric materials are perfect candidates for processibility at low work function [6, 7, 8]. It has a

harvesting power from ambient vibration sources. hexagonal quartzite structure and large excitation

Among the variety of available piezoelectric materials, binding energy of 60 meV which makes ZnO a potential

the most popularly used material is lead zirconate material to realize the next generation MEMS and UV

titanate (PZT) due to its superior piezoelectricity. semiconductors [1].

However, poor stability, loss of polarization with The fabrication and characterization of ZnO thin film

continuous usage is the major issues with PZT. Their cantilever has been reported over past decade in many

piezoelectric properties are also strongly affected by research papers. They fabricated with the use of Deep

operating temperatures and due to brittleness they Reactive ion etching (DRIE) to release the cantilever.

cannot be deformed mechanically for long duration. The fabrication of ZnO cantilever with wet etching

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is another important piezoelectric method is difficult due to sensitivity of ZnO for wet

material which is popularly used as one of the pollution- etching and treatment by temperature, acid bases and

free piezoelectric material and is free from limitations even water [9, 10]. Therefore a novel method was

found with PZT. ZnO is highly tensile and may undergo developed for the successful fabrication of ZnO based

huge mechanical deformations for a long duration MEMS devices. The V-grooves in the Si wafer were

without the effect of temperature variation. Therefore it created by TMAH wet etching before deposition of ZnO

has received increased attention for various Micro layer on substrate [11]. The SEM images of the fully

Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) device fabricated ZnO cantilever are shown in Fig. 1. A laser

applications [3]. Due to the unique combinations of Doppler Vibrometer [LDV] Polytec MSA-500 was used

electrical, optical and piezoelectric properties of ZnO, it to measure the dynamic response of the piezoelectric

has great potential for applications in solar cells, photo cantilever.

detectors, and light emitting diodes (LEDs), also it can 2. Modelling and Design

be easily integrated with other processes and materials. The most popular approach to design the

However piezoelectricity of ZnO is generally smaller piezoelectric microcantilever in consideration with

than that of PZT [4] but has the additional advantage of evenness of moments and forces and the compatibility

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 condition of strain at the piezoelectric and elastic Where, L, M, I and E are the length of the beam, mass

material interface by solving the consecutive equations per unit length area, moment of inertia and Young’s

[13,14]. The actuation force can be calculated with the modulus, respectively [15]. Per unit length equivalent

use of equivalent force and deflection relationship at the mass M for the piezoelectric micro cantilever is given

tip of the piezoelectric cantilever [15]. by

Fig. 2 demonstrates a piezoelectric cantilever M W t sub  sub  t p  p 

deflection mechanism by the application of an external
(3)
load F for a certain displacement δ(l). The speed of
Where, ‘W’ is width. Insertion of Equations (3) and 5)
positioning has to fulfil the requirements for specified
and f0 = ω0/2π into Eq. (1) gives the resonant frequency
applications in addition to displacement and loading.
f0,
Thus the most important specifications for the design of
3.5160 EI
piezoelectric cantilever actuators were found to be the 0 
L2 M
force–displacement relationship and resonant frequency
(4)
[16].
2.1 Bending Resonant Frequency To calculate the flexural rigidity EI for the

The resonant frequency of the cantilever can be microcantilever, which consists of two materials, its

obtained with the solution of eigen value problem of the cross section can be converted into the corresponding

fourth-order ordinary differential equation in space. The cross section of a single material by the transformed-

fundamental resonant frequency f0 of a beam which is section method [19]. The equivalent flexural rigidity EI

free at one end and fixed at the other end may be given can be calculated by

by [17, 18]. W
EI 
12 Esubt sub  Et t p 
.1615 
f0  2
L E t
sub sub  E pt p tsub sub  t p  p 
(1)
(5)

The transverse piezoelectric strain coefficient d31 of a

Where, the subscripts ‘p’ and ‘sub’ denote the
unimorph microcantilever is expressed as [20]
piezoelectric and elastic materials, respectively; and L, t
1  (l )
are the length and thickness of the beam, α is given by d 31 
3 E subE p t sub t sub  t p  L2V
equation 2
(6)
  E p2 t 4p  E sub
2 4
t sub  2 E p t p E subt sub 2t sub
2
 2t 2p  3t p t sub 
 l  t p
(2)
d 31 
L V
Where ρ is density and other parameters are as follows: (7)

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 The tip deflection δ is [17] Corporation of America (RCA) method. The Si substrate

3L2t sub (t p  tsub ) Esub E pVd31 used was p-type conducting (0.0001-0.0005 Ω cm). The
 l  
E p2t 4p  Esub
2 4
t sub  2 E p t p Esubt sub 2t sub
2
 2t 2p  3t p t sub  1 µm SiO2 layer was grown on Si wafer by wet thermal

(8) oxidation method. This layer serves as mask to the Si in

The tip deflection δ(l) and resonant frequency f 0 are the process of TMAH etching of Si [5]. The deposited

the functions of the piezoelectric cantilever dimensions. SiO2 layer is patterned by lithography and BOE etching.

Equations (1 & 8) show, that the width w does not affect For TMAH etch of Si wafer (shallow or deep) 25%

the resonant frequency and the tip deflection under any TMAH with water was used. The quantity of, TMAH

external load condition. Under the consideration of and water in the mixture were 90 ml and 30 ml

external load F, the driving voltage required for a certain respectively [10]. Further ZnO thin films were deposited

tip deflection δ is inversely proportional to the width w. by dielectric sputtering method using a ZnO target

A wider cross section of the piezoelectric cantilever is (99.9%) with a 2 inch diameter and 3 mm thickness.

preferred for lower less power consumption. The effect During the deposition of ZnO thin film the RF power

of length L can be easily seen from equations (1) and was 100 W, the base pressure was 5×10 -5 mbar and

(8). The resonant frequency decreases parabolically with operating pressure was 2.2×10-2 mbar. Thin films were

L, while the tip deflection increases parabolically with L deposited in Ar atmosphere with a deposition rate of 5

for F = 0 [19,20]. The material properties of Si and ZnO nm/min.

[23] are listed in table-1 and the design parameters for The Piezoelectric ZnO microcantilevers were

the piezoelectric ZnO microcantilever are listed in table- fabricated by micromachining process and patterned by

2. standard optical lithography steps and followed by

3. Experimental Details etching/liftoff of successive layers stack. The ZnO

The ZnO microcantilevers were fabricated with cantilevers were fabricated with novel Wet Chemical

novel wet etching and lift off method. Tetramethyl method (such method reported first time). The substrate

ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) is an anisotropic silicon was p-type silicon (100) wafer on which a 1 μm

etchant. The side walls of the etched Si were defined by thickness of silicon dioxide (SiO 2) was deposited using a

the (111) planes. The angle between the (100) plane and wet thermal oxidation method. At the outset the V-

sidewalls of etched Si was 54.7º as depicted in Fig. 3. groove was created with the depth of 150 µm on silicon

The complete process flow of releasing cantilevers is wafer. Then SU-8 2100 of 150 µm thickness was

illustrated in Fig. 4. The process flow starts with spinned on the wafer and the scraper was used to put the

cleaning of silicon wafers by standard Radio SU-8 uniformly. Now SU-8 covered Silicon wafer was

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 placed on the heater, to remove the bubbles and to shown in Fig. 6 and the thickness of the ZnO film is

smooth the surface by heating. Finally, wafer was about 0.3 μm. It clearly indicates that the grown ZnO

dipped in SU-8 developer to the process the SU8 [24, thin film in the cantilever is polycrystalline and

25]. columnar texture, which also confirms that the ZnO film

The fabrication process containing the sequence of is highly c-axis preferred orientation and therefore has

steps is shown in Fig. 4. hexagonal crystal. Further, Fig. 7 and Fig.8 show atomic

Therefore complete microfabrication process of the force microscope (AFM) images of ZnO thin film with

micro cantilever mainly included successive etching of 500 nm scan area and 30 nm scanning height. Fig. 8

Si and ZnO thin film, top electrode deposition and shows there is a clear charge reversal when sample bias

patterning. The Hysitron, Inc Minneapolis USA make is changed from positive 5000 mV to negative bias. The

nanoindenter model TI-900, were used for measurement SEM images of the fully fabricated ZnO cantilever are

of Young Modulus and Hardness of ZnO thin films. shown in Fig 1, which clearly illustrates that the

4. Results and Discussions fabricated device is stable and maintains its freestanding

X-ray from Rigaku (Cu-K radiation, state without structural deformations. The dimension of

=1.5405 Ǻ) was used for structural phase the ZnO microcantilever is about 500 × 100 μm2.

identifications. The XRD pattern in Fig.5 indicates that The above explained characterizations of the ZnO

the deposited ZnO film has high diffraction peak located thin film and the ZnO microcantilever were just done to

at around 34.4220 is very high and which is equivalent to see the quality of the film. In reality, the most desirable

the ZnO (002) peak. So the deposited ZnO thin film on parameter for the ZnO piezoelectric film is to observe its

the Si substrate has a c-axis preferred orientation, which high piezoelectric performance. So in the following

is an essential condition for good piezoelectric quality. experiment, to measure the dynamic response of the

The depth of the etching of Si was assessed by ZnO microcantilever first LDV (Laser Doppler

profilometer (Ambios, USA). The measured depth of the Vibrometer) was used, and then the transverse

V-groove in Si wafer was 160 μm. To determine the piezoelectric constant d31 of the ZnO film was calculated

grain morphology of ZnO film, Scanning electron using the obtained data [26]. The obtained values of

microscopy (SEM) was done using Raith150. SEM and Young Modulus and Hardness in GPa units with respect

profilometer were also used to find the uniformity and to penetration depth in nm is plotted in the Fig.9. The

the thickness of ZnO films with granular structure. approximate values of Young modulus of ZnO film is

The surface morphology of the fabricated ZnO 208±4 GPa and hardness as a function of penetration

microcantilever was measured by SEM Raith 150 two as depth is 4.84± 0.1 GPa. These obtained values of

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 Young’s modulus and hardness are almost constant resonant frequency of the microcantilever actuator was

indicates that effect of substrate is not meaningful for measured by an impedance analyzer (Agilent 4294A)

these indentation depths. and transverse piezoelectric coefficient, actuation

To evaluate the performance of the fabricated sensitivity, bandwidth and nonlinearity were observed.

piezoelectric microcantilever actuator, characterization Fig.12 shows the cantilever’s tip velocity magnitude

was done by Polytec MSA 500 laser Doppler vibrometer curve as a function of input vibration frequency. It has

(LDV) [21]. The experimental setup is shown in Fig. 10 been observed that the resonant frequency of the

and 11. The dynamic response of the fabricated ZnO microcantilever is 72,312 Hz. When a sine wave signal

microcantilever was captured using LDV, and then the was applied (AC voltage) by the probe station on the

tested data is analyzed and transverse piezoelectric bottom and top electrodes of the ZnO microcantilever, in

constant d31 of the ZnO film was calculated. accordance to piezoelectric effect the cantilever

RF function generator (Agilent 33120A) was used to generates vibration. These vibrations of the cantilever

supply the driving voltage and deflection of the were detected by the LDV and the velocity and

cantilever’s tip is measured by the Polytec-500 micro displacement of the cantilever were measured. The plot

system analyzer (LDV). Driving voltage and tip of the driving voltage versus measured amplitude of the

deflection signals are processed by a dual channel FFT cantilever tip is given in Fig. 13. In this measurement,

spectrum analyzer through data analysis and evaluation the driving voltage frequency was fixed at 10 kHz. From

signal processing software Intuitive 8.8 (PSV 8.8). The Fig. 13, it was observe that when the driving voltage

package of PSV data acquisition software has an increases from 1 to 15 V, the amplitude of the ZnO

analyzer of high featured in time domain. For a variety cantilever tip increased from 4.8 to 62 nm. It has been

of input wave forms it provides Zoom Fast Fourier observed that amplitude of the cantilever tip increases

transform (FFT), averaging and peak hold linearly with the driving voltage.

measurements. Its high resolution data visualization in For a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever structure

three dimensions (3D) includes full frequency response included one piezoelectric layer and one elastic layer, if

(FRF), deflection shape (ODS) and function of both of them have same width, the tip deflection δ(l) of

operational capabilities. At the input, sinusoidal the cantilever may be expressed a equation 8 [27,28].

waveforms of different driving voltages are applied and Where, L is the length of the cantilever i.e. distance

corresponding time responses were investigated. A wide from fixed end; δ(l) is the deflection; t p and tsub are the

band amplifier 7802 M also integrated with system for thicknesses of both piezoelectric and elastic layers (Si

proper amplification of the detected signals. The substrate), respectively and Ep and Esub are the Young’s

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 modulus of their materials, respectively; V is the applied transverse piezoelectric constant d31 of deposited ZnO

voltage; and d31 is the transverse piezoelectric constant film is little smaller than that of the ZnO bulk material,

of the piezoelectric material. In this device, since the but it is still high in comparison to other published

ZnO microcantilevers were fabricated directly on results [31,32].

conducting Si, and by TMAH etching out of the Si from Further, it will also intrusting to investigate the

the substrate, therefore only the thickness of ZnO film piezoelectric properties of the microcantilever harvester,

has been considered. Owing to the large volume of the fabricated using the ZnO film integrated with another

material it is easy to measure the mechanical properties multifunctional multiferroic thin films in order to

of the Si substrate and the properties are also stable. enhance the properties.

While in the case of thin films, estimation of the 5. Conclusion

properties is difficult due to small volume. Using the This research paper deals with the fabrication and

criteria of linear dependency of the deflection on the characterization of ZnO piezoelectric microcantilevers

applied voltage, the piezoelectric coefficient d 31 of the by the simple and inexpensive wet etching method. The

ZnO can be calculated by the use of equation 7[28,29, ZnO film was deposited on conducting p-type Si

30]. substrate using dielectric sputtering method at room

All the parameters except d31 are known for our temperature. XRD pattern clearly explains that the

fabricated ZnO microcantilever, L is the length of the deposited ZnO film has a desirable c-axis-preferred

cantilever which is 500 μm, tp is 300nm, tsub is 300 nm, orientation, and the normal grain size of the ZnO film

Ep is 2.1 × 1011 Pa, and Esub is 1.9 × 1011 Pa. δ(l) and V was found approximately 35.48 nm.

can be obtained from Fig. 13 therefore, the d 31 of the The AFM image showed that the ZnO thin film has

ZnO thin film was calculated using equation 7. very uniform surface, and the roughness of surface was

The calculated d31 of the ZnO film for the different 5.687 nm. The SEM images at different magnification

values of driving voltages is shown in figure 13. From confirmed that the ZnO film grows columnar, and the

Fig. 13, it has been observed that the transverse direction is perpendicular to the surface. The ZnO film

piezoelectric constant d31 of the ZnO film remains piezoelectric microcantilever was fabricated by wet

constant regarding the variations in different values of etching techniques. Its dimension is about 500 × 100 × .

driving voltages. The average calculated value of d31 is 3 μm3. The obtained values of Young Modulus and

-2.87 pC/N, which is almost in the same order as that of Hardness are 208±4 GPa and 4.84± 0.1 GPa

the ZnO bulk material. The value of d 31 for bulk respectively. These obtained values of Young’s modulus

material is -5.43 pC/N. However the calculated

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 and hardness are nearly constant indicates that effect of
References
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Email: dbhatia@rtu.ac.in
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 FABRICATION STEPS

(1) (2)

Figure 3. Side Profile of TMAH etching of Si (Anisotropic etching)

RCA Cleaned Si wafer SiO2 Layer of 1µm thickness grown by wet
Thermal Oxidation

(3) (4)

Figure 1. SEM image of fabricated ZnO microcantilever.

Spin coating PPR, Soft Bake, Exposing Development PPR

(5) (6)

BOE etching of SiO2 Stripping of PPR

(7) (8)

SiO2 etching with BOE

TMAH wet etching of Si with Figure 2. Cantilever
25% solution at deflection
90oC mechanism

(9) (10) < 100 >

SU-8 2100 Deposition SU-8 2100 Patterning by lithography

54.740
< 111 >
(11) (12)

PPR layer spinning for Lift-Off PPR Patterning by lithography and Neg. Mask

(13) (14)

ZnO Layer deposition by Dielectric Sputtering Top Electrode (Cr/Au) deposition

(15) (16)
Color Scheme for Figure 4
Lift off Cr/Au and ZnO SU-8 2100 removal by PG remover at 70oC
Figure 4. Fabrication steps used in the fabrication of Piezoelectric ZnO microcantilevers.

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 Figure 5. X-ray diffraction pattern obtained of ZnO film grown on Si substrate

Figure 6. SEM image of ZnO Layer at different magnification (a) Inset shows the image at 100 nm (b) at 200 nm

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 Figure 7. AFM (Topography) Images of ZnO thin films of 300nm for scan height30 nm (a) 2 D view(b) 3D
View.

Figure 8. AFM (Topography) Images of ZnO thin films of 300nm for scan area 500 nm at bias (a) 5000mV (b)-5000mV.

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 Figure 9. Hardness and Young Modulus of ZnO film with Penetration Depth

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 Camera
Optics
LDV

FFT Analyzer FEM Intuitive 8.8

RF Generato

Amplifier

W.B Amplifier Power Supply

FFT Analyzer/ FEM

Figure 10. LDV (Laser Doppler Vibratometer) setup used for the characterization of piezoelectric ZnO-microcantilever.

Cantilever

Fig.11. LDV (Laser Doppler Vibratometer) FEM and FFT setup for characterization of the piezoelectric ZnO microcantilever.

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 Figure 12. The cantilever’s tip velocity magnitude variations with input vibration frequency.

RF Generator

Figure 13. Cantiliver tip’s measured amplitude and d 31 of ZnO thin film v/s Voltage applied on
microcantilever (measurement was taken on driving AC voltage frequency 10 kHz).

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 List of figures
Figure 1. SEM image of fabricated ZnO microcantilever.
Figure 2. Cantilever deflection mechanism
Figure 3. Side Profile of TMAH etching of Si (Anisotropic etching)
Figure 4. Fabrication steps used in the fabrication of Piezoelectric ZnO microcantilevers.
Figure 5. X-ray diffraction pattern obtained of ZnO film grown on Si substrate
Figure 6. SEM image of ZnO Layer at different magnification (a) at 100 nm, (b) Inset shows the image at
200 nm.
Figure 7. AFM (Topography) Images of ZnO thin films of 300nm for scan height30 nm (a) 2 D view(b) 3D
View.
Figure 8. AFM (Topography) Images of ZnO thin films of 300nm for scan area 500 nm at bias (a) 5000mV
(b)-5000mV.
Figure 9. Hardness and Young Modulus of ZnO film with Penetration Depth
Figure 10. LDV (Laser Doppler Vibratometer) setup used for the characterization of ZnO piezoelectric
Znmicrocantilever.
Figure 11. LDV (Laser Doppler Vibratometer) FEM and FFT setup for characterization of the
piezoelectric ZnO microcantilever.
Figure 12. The cantilever’s tip velocity magnitude variations with input vibration frequency.
Figure 13. Cantiliver tip’s measured amplitude and d 31 of ZnO thin film v/s Voltage applied on
microcantilever (measurement was taken on driving AC voltage frequency 10 kHz).

Table- 1
The basic properties of materials Zinc Oxide and Silicon

Name of E (GPa) ρ (kg/m3) Hardness d31 (C/N)

Material (GPa)
Zinc Oxide 208 5740 4.90 −5.43× 10−12
(ZnO)
Silicon (Si) 189 2320 8.68 NA

Email: dbhatia@rtu.ac.in
17
Table -2
Design Parameters for the piezoelectric ZnO microcantilever.

Parameters Calculated Value

Resonant frequency (f0) 70 (kHz)
Sensitivity 4.8 (nm/V)
Thickness of ZnO 300 (nm)
Thickness of top Electrode 20/80 (nm) Cr/Au
Length (L) of cantilever 500 (µm)
Width (W) of cantilever 100 (µm)
Highlights

 ZnO thin film microcantilever energy scavenger by simple and inexpensive wet etching method.
 Novel method of Fabrication.
 Obtained values of Young’s modulus and hardness are nearly constant for indentation depth.
 The transverse piezoelectric coefficients d31 is much higher compared and nearly closed to the ZnO bulk material.
 Integration with multifunctional multiferroic film enhance the piezoelectric properties and output voltage.
 Cover Letter from the authors

To
The Editor
Nano Structures and Objects, Elsevier
Dear Sir,
We are submitting a manuscript titled “Fabrication and characterization of a novel zinc oxide thin film
piezoelectric microcantilever with wet etching and lift off methods” by Deepak Bhatia et al. for publication in the
Nano Structures and Objects, Elsevier.
Our paper belongs to the area of fabrication and characterization of a novel zinc oxide thin film piezoelectric
microcantilever with wet chemical process is being reported. Recently a great interest has been developed to
complete the requirement of self powered sensors/electronics by using renewable energy sources or energy
scavengers to replace traditional batteries. Therefore energy scavenging method which is used to convert vibration
energy into useful output electrical power has been observed as promising solutions. The fabrication and
characterization of ZnO film cantilever in the past decades were reported in many research papers. They fabricated
with the use of Deep Reactive ion etching (DRIE) to release the cantilever. The fabrication of ZnO cantilever with
wet etching method is difficult due to sensitivity of ZnO for wet etching and treatment by temperature, acid bases
and even water. Therefore need was felt to develop a novel method for the successful fabrication of ZnO based
MEMS devices. The V-grooves in the Si wafer were created by TMAH wet etching before deposition of ZnO layer
on substrate. The piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film was deposited using dielectric (RF magnetron) sputtering
method. The crystalline structures, surface roughness (morphology) and charge reversal of ZnO film were evaluated
by X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM),
respectively. The deposited ZnO film has a preferred ZnO (002) orientation and the c-axis is perpendicular to the
substrate surface. The grain size in the ZnO thin film was found to be the order of 35-40 nm and has a columnar
structure. This novel ZnO thin film microcantilever was fabricated by micromachining technique and by wet etching
of Si (TMAH) to release the cantilever. The functioning of the released device was tested by the Laser Doppler
Vibrometer (Polytec MSA-500) using variation in applied voltage. The transverse piezoelectric coefficients d 31 of
the ZnO film, obtained from the deflection of the cantilever, with influence of applied voltage was calculated as 2.87
pC/N. The observed dynamic characterization of the novel piezoelectric microcantilever had linear response with the
applied driving voltage. The observed dynamic characterization of the novel piezoelectric microcantilever shows
linear response with the applied driving voltage. Some of the Physics issues in this regard also not fully understood.

Our results add an important understanding to the concept of the microcantilevers harvester and enable to
fabricate energy scavengers to replace traditional batteries (for wireless sensors network) with low resonant
frequency and high power output which is a topic of intense experimental and theoretical research at present due to
its potential applications. To enhance the piezoelectric properties of deposited films and output voltage generated by
the microcantilever harvester it is proposed to integrate the ZnO film with another multifunctional films. The
generated energy also in consideration to store, and the relative experiments are ongoing will be reported in soon.

We are sure that this paper will be well appreciated by the readers of Nano Structures and Objects, Elsevier
Thanking you

Yours sincerely,
Deepak Bhatia
Department of Electronics Engineering, Rajasthan Technical University, Kota and
Department of Electrical Engineering and Centre for Excellence in Nanoelectronics,
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay,
Mumbai-400076,
Cell:+91-9461513242, +91-9414317401
Email: dbhatia@rtu.ac.in, keshav_eck26@yahoo.com