Investigation of AlGaN/GaN HFET and VO₂ Thin Film Based Deflection Transducers Embedded in GaN Microcantilevers

The static and dynamic deflection transducing performances of piezotransistive AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors (HFET) and piezoresistive VO₂ thin films, fabricated on GaN microcantilevers of similar dimensions, were investigated. Deflection sensitivities were tuned with the gate bias and operating temperature for embedded AlGaN/GaN HFET and VO₂ thin film transducers, respectively. The GaN microcantilevers were excited with a piezoactuator in their linear and nonlinear oscillation regions of the fundamental oscillatory mode. In the linear regime, the maximum deflection sensitivity of piezotransistive AlGaN/GaN HFET reached up to a 0.5% change in applied drain voltage, while the responsivity of the piezoresistive VO₂ thin film based deflection transducer reached a maximum value of 0.36% change in applied drain current. The effects of the gate bias and the operation temperature on nonlinear behaviors of the microcantilevers were also experimentally examined. Static deflection sensitivity measurements demonstrated a large change of 16% in drain-source resistance of the AlGaN/GaN HFET, and a similarly high 11% change in drain-source resistance in the VO₂ thin film, corresponding to a 10 μm downward step bending of the cantilever free end.