Title :
A single process for building capacitive pressure sensors and timing references with precise control of released area using lateral etch stop
Author :
Chiang, Chia-Fang ; Graham, Andrew B. ; Brien, Gary J O ; Kenny, Thomas W.
Author_Institution :
Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA, USA
fDate :
Jan. 29 2012-Feb. 2 2012
Abstract :
In this paper, we present a capacitive absolute pressure sensor co-fabricated with a MEMS resonator using an improved epitaxial polysilicon encapsulation process. The process features insensitivity to timed hydrofluoric acid etch variation when releasing structures via sacrificial silicon dioxide. Moreover, the process enables fabrication of structures to drive/sense in both lateral (x, y) and vertical (z) directions, providing a powerful fabrication platform for sensor integration on either bulk silicon or SOI wafer substrates.
Keywords :
capacitive sensors; encapsulation; etching; microfabrication; micromechanical resonators; microsensors; pressure sensors; silicon-on-insulator; MEMS resonator; SOI wafer substrate; Si; capacitive absolute pressure sensor; epitaxial polysilicon encapsulation process; hydrofluoric acid etch variation; lateral etch stop; precise control; sacrificial silicon dioxide; sensor integration platform; timing reference; Capacitive sensors; Electrodes; Fabrication; Micromechanical devices; Silicon; Silicon compounds;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2012 IEEE 25th International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Paris
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-0324-8
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.2012.6170177
