Wafer Scale Encapsulation of Wide Gaps using oxidation of Sacrificial Beams

This paper explores the possibility of using oxidation of sacrificial beams to encapsulate wide gaps. This method of oxidizing silicon beams in order to create diffusion barriers and structural supports has been reported in literatures. The idea is to encapsulate gaps of various widths in a method that is independent of the width of the gaps. In this experiment we try to encapsulate devices and structures with large gaps of the order of 10-20 mum using this technique and observe the results through SEM images.