Method for fabricating micro-mechanical devices
AssigneeThe Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
InventorsBrian Cunningham, Marc Weinberg
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Abstract
A method of fabricating micro-mechanical devices. A mesa is etched in a homogeneous wafer. The wafer is bonded to a patterned substrate with the mesa defining device elements suspended above the substrate. A portion of the wafer is removed until a desired device thickness is achieved. Discrete elements of the device are then formed by performing a structural etch on the remaining wafer material.
Claims12
A method of fabricating micro-mechanical devices, the method comprising:
- etching a mesa in a homogenous wafer;
- bonding the wafer to a patterned substrate with the mesa defining device elements suspended above the substrate;
- removing a portion of the wafer until a desired device thickness is achieved;
- and
- forming discrete elements of said device by performing a structural etch on the remaining wafer material.
A method of fabricating a micro-mechanical device including elements defined in a wafer suspended above a substrate bonded to the wafer, the method comprising:
- forming a mesa in one of a homogeneous wafer and a substrate;
- bonding the wafer to the substrate;
- removing a portion of the wafer until a desired device thickness is achieved;
- and
- forming discrete elements of said device by performing a structural etch on the remaining wafer material.
A method of fabricating micro-mechanical devices, the method comprising:
- performing a structural etch in a homogeneous wafer to form discrete elements of said device without using a wet chemical etch and only after at least one of the steps of:
- a) bonding the wafer to a substrate, and
- b) removing a portion of the wafer until a desired device thickness is achieved.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.