Method of manufacturing MEMS switches with reduced switching voltage
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsStephen E. Luce, Anthony K. Stamper
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Abstract
An approach includes a method of fabricating a switch. The approach includes forming a first cantilevered electrode over a first electrode, forming a second cantilevered electrode over a second electrode and operable to directly contact the first cantilevered electrode upon an application of a voltage to at least one of the first electrode and a second electrode, and the first cantilevered electrode includes an arm with an extending protrusion which extends upward from an upper surface of the arm.
Claims18
A method of fabricating a switch comprising:
- forming a first cantilevered electrode over a first electrode;
- forming a second cantilevered electrode over a second electrode such that the second cantilevered electrode directly contacts the first cantilevered electrode upon an application of a voltage to at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode;
- and
- forming a hermetically sealed volume encapsulating the first electrode, the second electrode, the first cantilevered electrode, and the second cantilevered electrode,
- wherein the first cantilevered electrode comprises an arm with an extending protrusion which extends upward from an upper surface of the arm, and
- the forming the hermetically sealed volume comprises:
- forming at least one hole in a nitride liner to gain access to a sacrificial resist;
- etching the sacrificial resist;
- and
- closing the at least one hole by deposition of additional liner material.
A method of fabricating a switch comprising:
- forming a first cantilevered electrode over a first electrode;
- forming a second cantilevered electrode over a second electrode and at least a portion of the second cantilevered electrode is formed at a distance over the first cantilevered electrode and is operable to directly contact the first cantilevered electrode upon an application of a voltage to at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode;
- and
- forming a hermetically sealed volume encapsulating the first electrode, the second electrode, the first cantilevered electrode, and the second cantilevered electrode,
- wherein the first cantilevered electrode comprises an arm with an extending protrusion which extends upward from an upper surface of the arm, and
- the forming the hermetically sealed volume comprises:
- forming at least one hole in a nitride liner to gain access to a sacrificial resist;
- etching the sacrificial resist;
- and
- closing the at least one hole by deposition of additional liner material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.