Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) (Also Written As Micro-Electro-Mechanical
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) (Also Written As Micro-Electro-Mechanical
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) (Also Written As Micro-Electro-Mechanical
MEMS are separate and distinct from the hypothetical vision of molecular nanotechnology or
molecular electronics. MEMS are made up of components between 1 to 100 micrometres in size
(i.e. 0.001 to 0.1 mm) and MEMS devices generally range in size from 20 micrometres (20
millionths of a metre) to a millimetre. They usually consist of a central unit that processes data,
the microprocessor and several components that interact with the outside such as microsensors[1].
At these size scales, the standard constructs of classical physics are not always useful. Because
of the large surface area to volume ratio of MEMS, surface effects such as electrostatics and
wetting dominate volume effects such as inertia or thermal mass.
The potential of very small machines was appreciated before the technology existed that could
make them—see, for example, Richard Feynman's famous 1959 lecture There's Plenty of Room
at the Bottom. MEMS became practical once they could be fabricated using modified
semiconductor device fabrication technologies, normally used to make electronics. These include
molding and plating, wet etching (KOH, TMAH) and dry etching (RIE and DRIE), electro
discharge machining (EDM), and other technologies capable of manufacturing small devices. An
early example of a MEMS device is the resonistor – an electromechanical monolithic resonator
Literature Survey
MEMS technology can be implemented using a number of different materials and manufacturing
techniques, depending on target device and market sector.
Silicon
Silicon is the material used to create most integrated circuits used in consumer electronics in the
modern world. The economies of scale, ready availability of cheap high-quality materials and
ability to incorporate electronic functionality make silicon attractive for a wide variety of MEMS
applications. Silicon also has significant advantages engendered through its material properties.
In single crystal form, silicon is an almost perfect Hookean material, meaning that when it is
flexed there is virtually no hysteresis and hence almost no energy dissipation. As well as making
for highly repeatable motion, this also makes silicon very reliable as it suffers very little fatigue
and can have service lifetimes in the range of billions to trillions of cycles without breaking. The
basic techniques for producing all silicon based MEMS devices are deposition of material layers,
patterning of these layers by photolithography and then etching to produce the required shapes.
Polymers
Even though the electronics industry provides an economy of scale for the silicon industry,
crystalline silicon is still a complex and relatively expensive material to produce. Polymers on
the other hand can be produced in huge volumes, with a great variety of material characteristics.
MEMS devices can be made from polymers by processes such as injection molding, embossing
or stereolithography and are especially well suited to microfluidic applications such as
disposable blood testing cartridges.
Metals
Metals can also be used to create MEMS elements. While metals do not have some of the
advantages displayed by silicon in terms of mechanical properties, when used within their
limitations, metals can exhibit very high degrees of reliability.
Commonly used metals include gold, nickel, aluminium, copper, chromium, titanium, tungsten,
platinum, and silver.
MEMS Processes
Basic Process
Deposition processes
One of the basic building blocks in MEMS processing is the ability to deposit thin films of
material with a thickness anywhere between a few nanometres to about 100 micrometres.
Physical deposition
Sputtering
Evaporation
Chemical deposition
Thermal oxidation
Patterning
Lithography
Lithography in MEMS context is typically the transfer of a pattern into a photosensitive material
by selective exposure to a radiation source such as light. A photosensitive material is a material
that experiences a change in its physical properties when exposed to a radiation source. If a
photosensitive material is selectively exposed to radiation (e.g. by masking some of the
radiation) the pattern of the radiation on the material is transferred to the material exposed, as the
properties of the exposed and unexposed regions differs.
This exposed region can then be removed or treated providing a mask for the underlying
substrate. Photolithography is typically used with metal or other thin film deposition, wet and dry
etching.
Photolithography
X-ray lithography
Diamond patterning
Etching processes
There are two basic categories of etching processes: wet etching and dry etching. In the former,
the material is dissolved when immersed in a chemical solution. In the latter, the material is
sputtered or dissolved using reactive ions or a vapor phase etchant for a somewhat dated
overview of MEMS etching technologies.
Wet etching
Wet chemical etching consists in selective removal of material by dipping a substrate into a
solution that dissolves it. The chemical nature of this etching process provides a good selectivity,
which means the etching rate of the target material is considerably higher than the mask material
if selected carefully.
Isotropic etching
Etching progresses at the same speed in all directions. Long and narrow holes in a mask will
produce v-shaped grooves in the silicon. The surface of these grooves can be atomically smooth
if the etch is carried out correctly, with dimensions and angles being extremely accurate.
Anisotropic etching
Some single crystal materials, such as silicon, will have different etching rates depending on the
crystallographic orientation of the substrate. This is known as anisotropic etching and one of the
most common examples is the etching of silicon in KOH (potassium hydroxide), where Si <111>
planes etch approximately 100 times slower than other planes (crystallographic orientations).
Therefore, etching a rectangular hole in a (100)-Si wafer results in a pyramid shaped etch pit
with 54.7° walls, instead of a hole with curved sidewalls as with isotropic etching.
HF etching
Hydrofluoric acid is commonly used as an aqueous etchant for silicon dioxide (SiO2, also known
as BOX for SOI), usually in 49% concentrated form, 5:1, 10:1 or 20:1 BOE (buffered oxide
etchant) or BHF (Buffered HF). They were first used in medieval times for glass etching. It was
used in IC fabrication for patterning the gate oxide until the process step was replaced by RIE.
Hydrofluoric acid is considered one of the more dangerous acids in the cleanroom. It penetrates
the skin upon contact and it diffuses straight to the bone. Therefore the damage is not felt until it
is too late.
Electrochemical etching
Dry etching
Vapor etching
Xenon difluoride (XeF2) is a dry vapor phase isotropic etch for silicon originally applied for
MEMS in 1995 at University of California, Los Angeles.[6][7] Primarily used for releasing metal
and dielectric structures by undercutting silicon, XeF2 has the advantage of a stiction-free release
unlike wet etchants. Its etch selectivity to silicon is very high, allowing it to work with
photoresist, SiO2, silicon nitride, and various metals for masking. Its reaction to silicon is
"plasmaless", is purely chemical and spontaneous and is often operated in pulsed mode. Models
of the etching action are available,[8], and university laboratories and various commercial tools
offer solutions using this approach.
Plasma etching
Sputtering
In reactive ion etching (RIE), the substrate is placed inside a reactor, and several gases are
introduced. A plasma is struck in the gas mixture using an RF power source, which breaks the
gas molecules into ions. The ions accelerate towards, and react with, the surface of the material
being etched, forming another gaseous material. This is known as the chemical part of reactive
ion etching. There is also a physical part, which is similar to the sputtering deposition process. If
the ions have high enough energy, they can knock atoms out of the material to be etched without
a chemical reaction. It is a very complex task to develop dry etch processes that balance
chemical and physical etching, since there are many parameters to adjust. By changing the
balance it is possible to influence the anisotropy of the etching, since the chemical part is
isotropic and the physical part highly anisotropic the combination can form sidewalls that have
shapes from rounded to vertical. RIE can be deep (Deep RIE or deep reactive ion etching
(DRIE)).
Deep RIE (DRIE) is a special subclass of RIE that is growing in popularity. In this process, etch
depths of hundreds of micrometres are achieved with almost vertical sidewalls. The primary
technology is based on the so-called "Bosch process", named after the German company Robert
Bosch, which filed the original patent, where two different gas compositions alternate in the
reactor. Currently there are two variations of the DRIE. The first variation consists of three
distinct steps (the Bosch Process as used in the UNAXIS tool) while the second variation only
consists of two steps (ASE used in the STS tool). In the 1st Variation, the etch cycle is as
follows: (i) SF6 isotropic etch; (ii) C4F8 passivation; (iii) SF6 anisoptropic etch for floor cleaning.
In the 2nd variation, steps (i) and (iii) are combined.
Both variations operate similarly. The C4F8 creates a polymer on the surface of the substrate, and
the second gas composition (SF6 and O2) etches the substrate. The polymer is immediately
sputtered away by the physical part of the etching, but only on the horizontal surfaces and not the
sidewalls. Since the polymer only dissolves very slowly in the chemical part of the etching, it
builds up on the sidewalls and protects them from etching. As a result, etching aspect ratios of 50
to 1 can be achieved. The process can easily be used to etch completely through a silicon
substrate, and etch rates are 3–6 times higher than wet etching.
Applications
Sensor
Actuator
Structure
In another view point MEMS applications are categorized by the field of application
(commercial applications include):
Inkjet printers, which use piezoelectrics or thermal bubble ejection to deposit ink on
paper.
Accelerometers in modern cars for a large number of purposes including airbag
deployment in collisions.
Accelerometers in consumer electronics devices such as game controllers (Nintendo
Wii), personal media players / cell phones (Apple iPhone, various Nokia mobile phone
models, various HTC PDA models)[11] and a number of Digital Cameras (various Canon
Digital IXUS models). Also used in PCs to park the hard disk head when free-fall is
detected, to prevent damage and data loss.
MEMS gyroscopes used in modern cars and other applications to detect yaw; e.g., to
deploy a roll over bar or trigger dynamic stability control[12]
Silicon pressure sensors e.g., car tire pressure sensors, and disposable blood pressure
sensors
Displays e.g., the DMD chip in a projector based on DLP technology, which has a
surface with several hundred thousand micromirrors
Optical switching technology, which is used for switching technology and alignment for
data communications
Bio-MEMS applications in medical and health related technologies from Lab-On-Chip to
MicroTotalAnalysis (biosensor, chemosensor)
Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) applications in consumer electronics
(primarily displays for mobile devices), used to create interferometric modulation -
reflective display technology as found in mirasol displays
Companies with strong MEMS programs come in many sizes. The larger firms specialize in
manufacturing high volume inexpensive components or packaged solutions for end markets such
as automobiles, biomedical, and electronics. The successful small firms provide value in
innovative solutions and absorb the expense of custom fabrication with high sales margins. In
addition, both large and small companies work in R&D to explore MEMS technology.
Manufacturing Methods
Bulk micromachining
Bulk micromachining is the oldest paradigm of silicon based MEMS. The whole thickness of a
silicon wafer is used for building the micro-mechanical structures.[5] Silicon is machined using
various etching processes. Anodic bonding of glass plates or additional silicon wafers is used for
adding features in the third dimension and for hermetic encapsulation. Bulk micromachining has
been essential in enabling high performance pressure sensors and accelerometers that have
changed the shape of the sensor industry in the 80's and 90's.
Surface micromachining
Both bulk and surface silicon micromachining are used in the industrial production of sensors,
ink-jet nozzles, and other devices. But in many cases the distinction between these two has
diminished. A new etching technology, deep reactive-ion etching, has made it possible to
combine good performance typical of bulk micromachining with comb structures and in-plane
operation typical of surface micromachining. While it is common in surface micromachining to
have structural layer thickness in the range of 2 µm, in HAR silicon micromachining the
thickness can be from 10 to 100 µm. The materials commonly used in HAR silicon
micromachining are thick polycrystalline silicon, known as epi-poly, and bonded silicon-on-
insulator (SOI) wafers although processes for bulk silicon wafer also have been created
(SCREAM). Bonding a second wafer by glass frit bonding, anodic bonding or alloy bonding is
used to protect the MEMS structures. Integrated circuits are typically not combined with HAR
silicon micromachining. The consensus of the industry at the moment seems to be that the
flexibility and reduced process complexity obtained by having the two functions separated far
outweighs the small penalty in packaging. A comparison of different high-aspect-ratio
microstructure technologies can be found in the HARMST article.
A forgotten history regarding surface micromachining revolved around the choice of polysilicon
A or B. Fine grained (<300A grain size, US4897360), post strain annealed pure polysilicon was
advocated by Prof Henry Guckel (U. Wisconsin); while a larger grain, doped stress controlled
polysilicon was advocated by the UC Berkeley group.
Conclusion
Researchers in MEMS use various engineering software tools to take a design from concept to simulation,
prototyping and testing. Finite element analysis is often used in MEMS design. Simulation of dynamics,
heat, and electrical domains, among others, can be performed by ANSYS, COMSOL and CoventorWare-
ANALYZER. Other software, such as CoventorWare-ARCHITECT and MEMS-PRO, is used to produce
a design layout suitable for delivery to a fabrication firm and even simulate the MEMS embedded in a
system. Once prototypes are on-hand, researchers can test the specimens using various instruments,
including laser doppler scanning vibrometers, microscopes, and stroboscopes.
The global market for micro-electromechanical systems, which includes products such as
automobile airbag systems, display systems and inkjet cartridges totaled $40 billion in 2006
according to Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities, a research report from
SEMI and Yole Developpement and is forecasted to reach $72 billion by 2011.[13]
MEMS devices are defined as die-level components of first-level packaging, and include
pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, digital mirror displays, micro fluidic
devices, etc. The materials and equipment used to manufacture MEMS devices topped $1 billion
worldwide in 2006. Materials demand is driven by substrates, making up over 70 percent of the
market, packaging coatings and increasing use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP).
While MEMS manufacturing continues to be dominated by used semiconductor equipment, there
is a migration to 200 mm lines and select new tools, including etch and bonding for certain
MEMS applications.
Advantages:
MEMS are devices that integrate mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common
silicon substrate. Many typically have dimensions in the 1 micron to 100 micron range. They have proven to
be a key enabling technology of developments in areas such as transportation, telecommunications and
health care, but the range of MEMS applications covers nearly every field. The most significant advantage of
MEMS is their ability to communicate easily with electrical elements in semiconductor chips. Other
advantages include small size, lower power consumption, lower cost, increased reliability and higher
precision.
(1) IC Technology used: Integrated multiple and more complex functions on a chip,to form
a monolithic system(sensors+processing+ actuators), Miniaturization with no loss of
functionality, Improved Performanc.
(3) Microcomponents make the system faster, more reliable, more portable, cheaper, low
power consumption, easily & massively employed, easily maintained & replaced.