Microelectronics/MEMS/NEMS I. What are MEMS?

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through microfabrication technology. While the electronics are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) process sequences (e.g., CMOS, Bipolar, or BICMOS processes), the micromechanical components are fabricated using compatible "micromachining" processes that selectively etch away parts of the silicon wafer or add new structural layers to form the mechanical and electromechanical devices. The term MEMS first started being used in the 1980s. It is used primarily in the United States and is applied to a broad set of technologies with the goal of miniaturizing systems through the integration of functions into small packages. The fabrication technologies used to create MEMS devices is very broad based. The three most used fabrication technologies include Bulk Micro Machining, Surface Micro Machining and LIGA. There are a wide variety of materials and processes which are part of the MEMS industry. MEMS promises to revolutionize nearly every product category by bringing together silicon-based microelectronics with micromachining technology, making possible the realization of complete systems-on-a-chip. MEMS is an enabling technology allowing the development of smart products, augmenting the computational ability of microelectronics with the perception and control capabilities of microsensors and microactuators and expanding the space of possible designs and applications. Microelectronic integrated circuits can be thought of as the "brains" of a system and MEMS augments this decision-making capability with "eyes" and "arms", to allow microsystems to sense and control the environment. Sensors gather information from the environment through measuring mechanical, thermal, biological, chemical, optical, and magnetic phenomena. The electronics then process the information derived from the sensors and through some decision making capability direct the actuators to respond by moving, positioning, regulating, pumping, and filtering, thereby controlling the environment for some desired outcome or purpose. Because MEMS devices are manufactured using batch fabrication techniques similar to those used for integrated circuits, unprecedented levels of functionality, reliability, and sophistication can be placed on a small silicon chip at a relatively low cost. MEMS technology is based on a number of tools and methodologies, which are used to form small structures with dimensions in the micrometer scale (one millionth of a meter). Significant parts of the technology have been adopted from integrated circuit (IC) technology. For instance, almost all devices are built on wafers of silicon, like ICs. The structures are realized in thin films of materials, like ICs. They are patterned using photolithographic methods, like ICs. There are however several processes that are not derived from IC technology, and as the technology continues to grow the gap with IC technology also grows.

There are three basic building blocks in MEMS technology, which are the ability to deposit thin films of material on a substrate, to apply a patterned mask on top of the films by photolithographic imaging, and to etch the films selectively to the mask. A MEMS process is usually a structured sequence of these operations to form actual devices. II. MEMS vs. Integrated Circuits (ICs) One way to look at it: ICs move and sense electrons MEMS move and sense mass Another: ICs use Semiconductor processing technologies MEMS can use a variety of processes including Semiconductor but also Bulk, LIGA, Surface Micromachining Packaging IC packaging consists of electrical connections in and out of a sealed environment MEMS packaging not only includes input and output of electrical signals, but may also include optical connections, fluidic capillaries, gas channels and openings to the environment. A much greater challenge. A. ICs
ICs are based on the transistor a basic unit or building block of ICs. Most ICs are Silicon based, depositing a relatively small set of materials. Equipment tool sets and processes are very similar between different IC

fabricators and applications there is a dominant front end technology base. B. MEMS Does not have a basic building block there is no MEMS equivalent of a transistor. Some MEMS are silicon based and use sacrificial surface micromachining (CMOS based) technology. Some MEMS are hybrids (different wafer materials bonded), some are plastic based or ceramic utilizing a variety of processes Surface & bulk micromachining, LIGA, electrodeposition, hot plastic embossing, extrusion on the micro scale etc. There is no single dominant front end technology base but emerging and established MEMS applications have started to self-select dominant front-end technology pathways (MANCEF 2nd Roadmap). More on What are MEMS? a. MEMS devices first took off in the sensor industry. b. Most MEMS devices have at least one transducer element. To sense To actuate c. Transducer is a device or system that converts one form of energy to another force to voltage, voltage to force,

III. MEMS Applications There are numerous possible applications for MEMS and Nanotechnology. As a breakthrough technology, allowing unparalleled synergy between previously unrelated fields such as biology and microelectronics, many new MEMS and Nanotechnology applications will emerge, expanding beyond that which is currently identified or known. Here are a few applications of current interest: A. Biotechnology MEMS and Nanotechnology is enabling new discoveries in science and engineering such as the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) microsystems for DNA amplification and identification, micromachined Scanning Tunneling Microscopes (STMs), biochips for detection of hazardous chemical and biological agents, and microsystems for highthroughput drug screening and selection. B. Communications High frequency circuits will benefit considerably from the advent of the RF-MEMS technology. Electrical components such as inductors and tunable capacitors can be improved significantly compared to their integrated counterparts if they are made using MEMS and Nanotechnology. With the integration of such components, the performance of communication circuits will improve, while the total circuit area, power consumption and cost will be reduced. In addition, the mechanical switch, as developed by several research groups, is a key component with huge potential in various microwave circuits. The demonstrated samples of mechanical switches have quality factors much higher than anything previously available. Reliability and packaging of RF-MEMS components seem to be the two critical issues that need to be solved before they receive wider acceptance by the market. C. Accelerometers MEMS accelerometers are quickly replacing conventional accelerometers for crash airbag deployment systems in automobiles. The conventional approach uses several bulky accelerometers made of discrete components mounted in the front of the car with separate electronics near the air-bag; this approach costs over $50 per automobile. MEMS and Nanotechnology has made it possible to integrate the accelerometer and electronics onto a single silicon chip at a cost between $5 and $10. These MEMS accelerometers are much smaller, more functional, lighter, more reliable, and are produced for a fraction of the cost of the conventional macroscale accelerometer elements. a. Accelerometers (Inertial Sensors Crash Bags, Navigation, Safety) b. Ink Jet Print Heads c. Micro Fluidic Pumps Insulin Pump (drug delivery)

d. Pressure Sensor-Auto and Bio applications e. Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs) MOEM Micro Optical Electro Mechanical Systems DMD Digital Mirror Device DM Deformable Mirror f. Chem Lab on a Chip-Homeland security g. RF (Radio Frequency) MEMS-Low insertion loss switches (High Frequency) h. Mass Storage Devices D. MEMS Pressure Sensors Pressure Sensors 1960s technology Used primarily in Aerospace industry at the beginning. E. Ink Jet - Ink jet printers are MEMS based late 1970s, IBM and HP F. Increasingly Sophisticated Inertial Sensors Are Being Developed Analog Devices and Bosch are leaders in automotive inertial sensors. Berkeley is a leader in microsystems research at the University level. Inertial sensors measure a change in velocity (acceleration). The first and most prevalent of these is the crash sensor. A more recent application is in IBMs ThinkPad Laptop. G. Hard Drive Magnetic Read/Write Heads By incorporating MEMS actuation, the head can be positioned more quickly and to finer tolerances, this results in higher density data capability. H. MOEMs (Micro Optical Electro Mechanical Systems) AgilOptic (formally Intellite) is an Albuquerque based company producing DMs (deformable mirrors). These are used for image enhancement (taking out wavefront distortion of images which occur due to atmospheric disturbances, also when image the retina of the eye and adjusting focus as a laser welding beam goes through a plum of hot gas). I. Micro Needles a. MEMS needle within the opening of a small hypodermic needle b. Smaller size reduces pain and tissue damage now there are much smaller MEMS needle arrays. c. The plastic needle array is made through a standard MEMS fabrication process to make the molds, micro injection process is used to create the arrays. J. Biomedical Applications The Overlap between microbiology and microsystem feature sizes makes integration between the two possible

IV. NEMS (Nano Electro Mechanical Systems) Nanotechnology Meets MEMS Cantilever Sensors-As mass is added to the cantilever, the resonance frequency shifts. A. Detection of a single E.coli Cell B. Detection of Single DNA C. Cantilever sensors D. Mass Storage - IBM E. Mass Storage - Nanochip http://www.nanochip.com/tech.htm V. What is a Cantilever? Cantilevers are used as Sensors Cantilevers are used as Switches Many MEMS Sensors use the principles of Cantilevers as well as RF Switches A cantilever is supported at one end (fixed). It has a length, thickness and width (geometry) When a force is applied to the end, it deflects A. Cantilevers as Sensors As sensors, Cantilevers can react to the environment in two ways: 1. The resonance frequency can shift (due to a change in loading mass) 2. The deflection can shift (due to stress) Consider this about a diving board What happens when a little kid bounces on the end of the diving board? What happens when his large dad bounces on the end of the diving board? Which one has a higher resonance frequency? B. MEMS Cantilever sensors In MEMS Cantilever sensors, the ends of the cantilevers are coated with a layer of probe molecules. When a target molecule is present, it attaches to the probe molecule, thereby increasing the mass. The resonant frequency goes down. You just detected the presence of a molecule! C. Two Concepts of Cantilevers as Sensors 1. Response to Stress Use a laminate cantilever of dissimilar materials. One material expands or contracts at a different rate as another due to absorption, adsorption, heat Resulting stress gradient (difference in stress) causes the cantilever to bend. 2. Response to Mass Cantilevers are coated with a material which is selective to what can adhere to it. When the target material adheres to the cantilever, its mass changes resulting in a shift of the cantilevers resonance (natural) frequency.