Bulk silicon etching techniques, used to selectively remove silicon from substrates, have been broadly applied in the fabrication of micromachined sensors, actuators, and structures. Despite the more recent emergence of higher resolution, surface-micromachining approaches, the majority of currently shipping silicon sensors are made using bulk etching. Particularly in light of newly introduced dry etching methods compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors, it is unlikely that bulk micromachining will decrease in popularity in the near future. The available etching methods fall into three categories in terms of the state of the etchant: wet, vapor, and plasma. For each category, the available processes are reviewed and compared in terms of etch results, cost, complexity, process compatibility, and a number of other factors. In addition, several example micromachined structures are presented.

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Bulk micromachining of silicon

What is described in the present specification are accelerometers using tiny proof masses and piezoresistive force detection. Conventional wisdom would indicate that this approach would not yield useful sensors. However, in fact, according to the invention, such devices are suitable in a wide range of applications. The devices may include deformable hinges to allow the fabrication of three dimensional structures. A new system has been developed which etches silicon highly selectively at moderate temperatures and without hydrodynamic forces potentially damaging to small structures and features. The system is based on the use of the gas phase etchant xenon diflouride, which is an unremarkable white solid at standard temperature and pressure.

Etchants for use in micromachining of CMOS Microaccelerometers and microelectromechanical devices and method of making the same

An integrated circuit (IC) approach to thermal microsensors is presented. The focus is on thermal sensors with on-chip bias and signal conditioning circuits made by industrial complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) IC technology in combination with post-CMOS micromachining or deposition techniques. CMOS materials and physical effects pertinent to thermal sensors are summarized together with basic structures used for microheaters, thermistors, thermocouples, thermal isolation, and heat sinks. As examples of sensors using temperature measurement, we present micromachined CMOS radiation sensors and thermal converters. Examples for sensors based on thermal actuation include thermal flow and pressure sensors, as well as thermally excited microresonators for position and chemical sensing. We also address sensors for the characterization of process-dependent thermal properties of CMOS materials, such as thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and heat capacity, whose knowledge is indispensable for thermal sensor design. Last, two complete packaged microsystems-a thermoelectric air-flow sensor and a thermoelectric infrared intrusion detector-are reported as demonstrators.

Micromachined thermally based CMOS microsensors

The current invention provides for encapsulated release structures, intermediates thereof and methods for their fabrication. The multi-layer structure has a capping layer, that preferably comprises silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride, and which is formed over an etch resistant substrate. A patterned device layer, preferably comprising silicon nitride, is embedded in a sacrificial material, preferably comprising polysilicon, and is disposed between the etch resistant substrate and the capping layer. Access trenches or holes are formed in to capping layer and the sacrificial material are selectively etched through the access trenches, such that portions of the device layer are release from sacrificial material. The etchant preferably comprises a noble gas fluoride NGF 2x (wherein Ng=Xe, Kr or Ar: and where x=1, 2 or 3). After etching that sacrificial material, the access trenches are sealed to encapsulate released portions the device layer between the etch resistant substrate and the capping layer. The current invention is particularly useful for fabricating MEMS devices, multiple cavity devices and devices with multiple release features.

Microelectronic mechanical system and methods

The thermal conductivities /spl kappa/ of the dielectric and conducting thin films of three commercial CMOS processes were determined in the temperature range from 120 to 400 K. The measurements were performed using micromachined heatable test structures containing the layers to be characterized. The /spl kappa/ values of thermally grown silicon oxides are reduced from bulk fused silica by roughly 20%. The /spl kappa/ of phosphosilicate and borophosphosilicate glasses are 0.94/spl plusmn/0.08 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/ and 1.18/spl plusmn/0.06 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/, respectively, at 300 K. A plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor-deposition silicon-nitride layer has a thermal conductivity of 2.23/spl plusmn/0.12 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/ at 300 K. This value is between published data for atmospheric-pressure CVD and low-pressure CVD nitrides. For the metal layers, we found thermal conductivities between 167 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/ and 206 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/, respectively, at 300 K, to be compared with 238 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/ of bulk aluminum. The temperature-dependent product /spl kappa//spl rho/ of /spl kappa/ with the electrical resistivity /spl rho/ agrees better than 8.2% between 180-400 K with that of pure bulk aluminum. The /spl kappa/ values of the polysilicon layers are between 22.4 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/ and 37.3 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/ at 300 K. They are reduced from similarly doped bulk silicon by factors of between 2.0-1.3. The observed discrepancies between thin film and bulk data demonstrate the importance of determining the process-dependent thermal conductivities of CMOS thin films.

Process-dependent thin-film thermal conductivities for thermal CMOS MEMS

For the first time a packaged single-chip anemometry microsystem is reported The system includes a thermal CMOS flow sensor with on-chip power management, signal conditioning, and A/D conversion It is fabricated using an industrial IC process followed by post-CMOS micromachining The system is packaged on a flexible substrate using flip-chip interconnection technology The measurement of wind speeds is demonstrated in the range from 0 to 38 m/s (0 to 12 Beaufort), with a dynamic range of 65 dB Total power consumption is 3 mW

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Single-chip CMOS anemometer

CMOS flow sensors

A novel ball bond process optimization method based on the thermal response of an integrated aluminum microsensor is reported. The in situ temperature during ball bonding is measured and analyzed. The ultrasonic period shows distinct stages corresponding to scrubbing of the ball on the pad, intermetallic bond growth, and ball deformation by ultrasonic softening. A peak of the signal indicates the end of interconnection growth. This can be used for bond time optimization. When optimizing bonding force, the sensor signal correlates with ball shear strength. Using this method, bonding force process windows can be determined by on-line measurements. A test measurement shows that at a chip temperature of 34/spl deg/C, the bonding force optimized by the microsensor method is 260 mN whereas it is 252 mN when using conventional shear testing for optimization. In summary, the method produces a wealth of new insights in transient thermal phenomena of the ball bonding process and promises to simplify the evaluation of process windows.

Integrated temperature microsensors for characterization and optimization of thermosonic ball bonding process

A micromachined thermal van der Pauw test structure is reported. Similar in principle to the conventional electrical van der Pauw Greek cross test structures, it enables the in-plane thermal sheet conductivities of thin films to be determined. The microstructure was fabricated using a commercial CMOS application-specific integrated circuit process followed by anisotropic silicon etching. It consists of a cross-shaped sandwich of the dielectric CMOS layers isolated from the bulk silicon by four narrow suspension arms. Integrated polysilicon resistors make it possible to generate controlled amounts of heat power and to measure local temperature changes to determine the thermal response of the structure. The measurement principle exploits the analogy between the two-dimensional (2-D) heat flow in thin film samples and the electrical current pattern in thin film conductors. A thermal sheet resistance of 1.87/spl times/10/sup 5/ K/W was extracted from the complete sandwich of the dielectric CMOS layers. This resistance is equivalent to an average in-plane thermal conductivity of the dielectric layer sandwich of /spl kappa/=1.44 W m/sup -1/ K/sup -1/. Thermal finite element simulations showed that the radiative heat loss from the structure has a negligible effect on the extracted /spl kappa/ value.

A thermal van der Pauw test structure

A micromachined thermal van der Pauw test structure is reported. Similar in principle to the conventional electrical van der Pauw Greek cross test structures, it enables the in-plane thermal sheet conductivities of thin films to be determined. The analogy between the two-dimensional heat flow in thin film samples and the electrical current pattern in thin film conductors is exploited. A thermal sheet resistance of 1.87/spl times/10/sup 5/ K/W was extracted from the complete sandwich of dielectric layers of a commercial CMOS ASIC process. This is equivalent to an average in-plane thermal conductivity of the CMOS dielectric layer sandwich of /spl kappa/=1.44 Wm/sup -1/ K/sup -1/.

H. Baltes

Papers

Single-chip CMOS anemometer

CMOS flow sensors

Integrated temperature microsensors for characterization and optimization of thermosonic ball bonding process

A thermal van der Pauw test structure

A thermal van der Pauw test structure