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Nmems 2a PDF

This document provides an introduction to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). It discusses what MEMS are, why they are useful, and how they are designed and fabricated. MEMS combine electrical and mechanical components at the microscale and can sense, actuate, and communicate on chip. They offer advantages like smaller size, lower cost, and higher sensitivity compared to macroscale systems. Common MEMS fabrication techniques include bulk micromachining, surface micromachining, and lithography processes adapted from integrated circuit manufacturing. Silicon is a widely used structural material for its mechanical stability, compatibility with electronics, and established fabrication infrastructure.

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Arjit Goswami
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77 views

Nmems 2a PDF

This document provides an introduction to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). It discusses what MEMS are, why they are useful, and how they are designed and fabricated. MEMS combine electrical and mechanical components at the microscale and can sense, actuate, and communicate on chip. They offer advantages like smaller size, lower cost, and higher sensitivity compared to macroscale systems. Common MEMS fabrication techniques include bulk micromachining, surface micromachining, and lithography processes adapted from integrated circuit manufacturing. Silicon is a widely used structural material for its mechanical stability, compatibility with electronics, and established fabrication infrastructure.

Uploaded by

Arjit Goswami
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 51

INTRODUCTION TO MEMS

EA C415

Dr. N.N. SHARMA

LECTURE 1-2
MEMS
WHAT?
WHY?
 HOW?

 MEMS DESIGN
 MATERIALS IN MEMS
WHY?

Marc J. Madou, Fundamentals of Microfab. , CRC Press, 2000, pp 537


SCALING EFFECTS

# Ex 1 MICROCHANNEL

50  50m
2

One drop of blood  100l


V  A L
 0.1 cm 3  50  10 4 cm  50  10 4 cm  L
L  4000cm !
ADVANTAGES

Smaller
Faster
Less Costly
Less Power
Higher Sensitivity
Established Technology
Higher Reliability
WHY?

 Plenty of industrial space: no machine


exists.
 Electronic machines and watches may
contain many parts of sub-millimeter
size but many such parts cannot be
bought “off-the-shelf”.
But then we do not invest on an area
just to buy small parts, which are not
present today.
WHY?

There are many advantages of


miniaturized machines and specific
purpose for what all these machines will
be used for by mankind.
For example, what is the advantage of
writing encyclopedia on the head of a
pin?
WHY?
“…Why cannot we write the entire 24
volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica on
the head of a pin?”
It needs small sizes to be explored
to manipulate and control things on
small scale
integrate physics, chemistry and
engineering in these domains, where
nature has presented its building
blocks.
WHY?

Instead of huge investment in big libraries


(building, furnishing, books etc.) with
limited facilities, all info can be provided to
all with very little resource consumption.
WHY?
Miniaturization Reasons
attributes
Low energy and little Limited resources on planet earth
material consumed
Small size Smaller is lower in cost

Batch techniques Lower cost

Disposable High volume production, Helps


avoid contamination
Smaller building Smaller building blocks can make
blocks the system more sophisticated,
improved reliability
VLSI V/S MEMS
VLSI MEMS
Electronics, Electrical Combination of Electrical,
Mechanical, Electronics, Material
Science, Physics, Chemistry etc.

Based on a set of robust design Robust design rules in MEMS are


rules in developmental stage

Planar geometry/Rectangular Complex geometry/shapes/3D


Shapes/2D

Small set of primitives Large set of primitives (~31000)

VLSI has a complete basis (Like MEMS is lacking the basis


NAND or NOR gates)

VLSI has a clear separation MEMS design and fabrication go


between design and fabrication hand in hand

No moving parts Moving parts

Electrical energy MEMS operates in coupled


energy domains
WHAT?

 The field of small sized machines:


emerged in last two decade as a revolution.

 Many names:
Micromechanics, Microdynamics, Micromechatronics,
Microsystems Technology (MST), Micro Engineering,
Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) etc.

 MEMS components size:


range 1 m to 10 mm and is construed to achieve a
certain engineering function.
WHAT?

DEFINATION:
A Microsystems is an engineering system
that contains MEMS components that are
designed to perform specific engineering
function.
CONSTITUENTS:
A Microsystems comprises of micro
sensors, actuators and a processing unit.
WHAT?

POWER
SUPPLY

SIGNAL PROCESSING

ACTUATOR
SENSOR
WHAT?

Example :

Airbag deployment system in automobile

- impact of the car in a serious collision is felt by micro


inertia sensor built on the principle of micro accelerometer.

-The sensor generates an appropriate signal to an actuator


that deploys the airbag to protect the driver and the
passenger from serious injuries.
What?
NOTE:
Use existing silicon processing infrastructure
to create micron-scale machines.
Can have many functions, including sensing,
actuation, and communication.
Just like microelectronics, MEMS will
permeate our everyday lives in the coming
decades.
INTEGRATION OF SENSORS, ACTUATORS,
COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTATION IN
ONE (BATCH FABRICATED) DEVICE.
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
MEMS – examples
HOW?

How can we make such a device?


What kind of manufacturing processes
should we use?
CATEGORIZATION:

TOP-DOWN APPROACH
 BOTTOM-UP APPROACH
SILICON/PLANAR/IC FAB APPROACH
NON-CONVENTIONAL MECHANICAL M/C
HOW?

TOP DOWN APPROACH


 In manufacturing, forming and removing are
the two primary processes.
 Forming creates an original shape from a
molten mass, a gaseous state, or solid
particles : During such processes, cohesion is
created among individual particles: examples
include plastic molding, thin film metal
deposition by evaporation or sputtering and
electroforming.
HOW?

Removing process destroys cohesion


among particles as expected in Electric
Discharge Machining (EDM), traditional
mechanical turning/grinding and laser
drilling.
HOW?

 In top down technology, three major


non-traditional techniques involving
lithography for making MEMS are:
 Bulk micro-machining- (etching into the
substrate)
 Surface micro machining (building-up
layer above the substrate and etch).
 LIGA- (deep structures forming)
LECTURE 2
MEMS DESIGN METHODOLOGY
• Currently constrained by
fabrication limitation
• and processing constraints
• higher level CAD tool available
with limited functionalities
MEMS DESIGN CHALLENGES
Size
Environment Sensitivity
Packaging
Internal heat buildup
Ambient temperature swings.
Withstanding a variety of structural loads
Survive severe shock and vibration
Compatible with the media, e.g., corrosive gases
Multi-physics phenomena
Material Selection
MATERIALS IN MEMS
MOST COMMONLY USED ACTIVE SUBSTRATES
ARE SILICON, GERMANIUM AND QUARTZ.

THEY HAVE VERY HIGH DIMENSIONAL


STABILITY, WHICH IS ALMOST INSENSITIVE TO
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION.
THE DIMENSIONAL STABILITY IS A CRITICAL
REQUIREMENT FOR SENSORS AND ACTUATORS.
MATERIALS IN MEMS
Silicon is the most abundant
material on Earth

However, it almost exists in


compounds with other elements.
 Single-crystal silicon is most widely
used substrate material for MEMS
and Microsystems.
MATERIALS IN MEMS
Some properties of silicon making it popular for substrate materials are:

mechanically stable
integrated into electronics

ideal structural material. It has about the same Young’s


modulus as steel (about MPa), but is as light as Aluminum, with a mass
density of about 2.3g/cm3.

High melting point (1400C) about twice as high as that


of aluminum. This high melting point makes silicon dimensionally stable even
at elevated temperature.

thermal expansion coefficient is about 8 times


smaller than that of steel.
MATERIALS IN MEMS
Silicon shows no mechanical hysteresis. It is thus
a suitable candidate material for sensors and actuators.

Silicon wafers are extremely flat and accept


coatings and additional thin-films layers for
building micro structural geometry or conducting
electricity.
Treatments and fabrication processes for
silicon substrates are well established and
documented.
MATERIALS IN MEMS
Three more silicon compounds are often used
in MEMS:
Silicon di-oxide (SiO2)

Silicon Carbide (SiC)


Silicon Nitride (Si3N4).
Other Materials in MEMS:
GaAs
Quartz
Polymers ETC..
NEXT LECTURE:

SCALING ANALYSIS

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