Process for fabrication of 3-dimensional micromechanisms
AssigneeUniversity of Maryland, College Park
InventorsDonald Lad Devoe, Lung-Wen Tsai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention provides a fabrication process for manufacturing of truly 3-dimensional micromechanisms which takes advantages of SOI (silicon-on-insulator) wafers each of which is processed to create a respective structural element of the 3-dimensional micromechanisms by DRIE (deep reactive ion etching) of the wafer and thermal oxidation of the trenches opened during the DRIE etching. The wafers are sequentially bonded into a multistack structure from which the 3-D micromechanism. is released by XeF2 etching. Thermally grown SiO2 is used as structural material for the 3-D micromechanism.
Claims20
A method of fabrication of 3-dimensional micromechanisms having at least a first and a second structural elements operatively coupled therebetween in a predetermined structural arrangement, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a first wafer,
- (b) etching said first wafer to form first trenches defining said first structural element of the 3-dimensional micromechanism,
- (c) oxidizing surfaces of said first trenches,
- (d) providing a second wafer,
- (e) bonding said second wafer to a respective surface of the processed said first wafer thereby forming a multi-layer formation,
- (f) etching said second wafer to form second trenches defining said second structural element of the 3-dimensional micromechanism, said second structural element being in predetermined mutual disposition with respect to said first structural element,
- (g) oxidizing surfaces of said second trenches, and
- (h) etching said multi-layer formation to release said 3-dimensional micromechanism therefrom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.