Elastic stresses in bimorph piezocantileversbased on epitaxial wide‑band III-nitrides

Eugeny A. Panyutin; Shukrillo S. Sharofidinov

doi:10.17308/kcmf.2026.28/13969

Authors

Eugeny A. Panyutin Ioffe Institute, 26, Polytekhnicheskaya st., St. Petersburg 194021, Russian Federation
Shukrillo S. Sharofidinov Ioffe Institute, 26, Polytekhnicheskaya st., St. Petersburg 194021, Russian Federation

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17308/kcmf.2026.28/13969

Keywords:

High-temperature functional electronics, Wide-bandgap semiconductors, Epitaxial technologies, Multilayer AlN/AlGaN structures, Bimorph cantilever, Bending deformations, Elastic stresses

Abstract

Objectives: In this work, the elastic properties of bimorphous piezocantilevers based on epitaxial AlN/AlN (AlGaN/AlN/ AlGaN/AlN/AlGaN) structures were studied using computer modeling. These structures allow for the simultaneous manifestation of direct and inverse piezoelectric effects and the excitation of various types of acoustic waves. Given the high thermal resistance and thermal stability of these materials, it is assumed that such cantilevers could serve as a basis for the subsequent creation of various sensors designed to operate in high-temperature and chemically aggressive environments.

Experimental: In static and infra-low-frequency modes, the reverse piezoelectric effect manifests as bending deformations and associated elastic stresses. To pre-estimate the magnitude of these stresses, which have a multidirectional character at the hetero-interfaces of the layers, a simple mathematical model was constructed, which allows establishing the magnitude of these stresses and their relationship with the geometric and elastic parameters of the console.

Conclusions: Based on the model, a computational algorithm was developed in the MATLAB environment, which allows determining the dependence of elastic stresses, including the ratio of the thicknesses of the active layers. Such a dependence has the form of a curve with a maximum, which is reached at the ratio of the thicknesses of the layers m = 1.5, at the same time, the value of these stresses practically does not depend on the ratios of the values of the elastic constants of the layer materials (for the cases of AlGaN/AlN and GaN/AlN). It is assumed that such estimates will be useful for the preliminary design and optimization of the geometry of piezoelectric sensors

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Author Biographies

Eugeny A. Panyutin, Ioffe Institute, 26, Polytekhnicheskaya st., St. Petersburg 194021, Russian Federation

Cand. Sci. (Phys.–Math), Research Fellow of the Laboratory Semiconductor devices, Ioffe Institute of the Russian Academy of Science (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation)
Shukrillo S. Sharofidinov, Ioffe Institute, 26, Polytekhnicheskaya st., St. Petersburg 194021, Russian Federation

Cand. Sci. (Phys.–Math), Research Fellow of the Laboratory Semiconductor devices, Ioffe Institute of the Russian Academy of Science (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation)

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