Failure analysis of a thin-film nitride MEMS package

In this paper, the failure mechanism of a thin-film nitride MEMS package is studied by an integrated test structure. The cause of the failure is investigated by advanced characterization techniques and accelerated tests on the packaging material. From the research, we can conclude that PECVD silicon nitride is a proper sealing material for thin-film packaging because of its good sealing property. However, outgassing of this material, at elevated temperature, remains the main concern for the reliability.