Introduction to MEMS

EVOLUTION OF MICROELECTRONICS
Device (Transistor) (1947)

Silicon Planar Technology (1954)

Integrated Circuits (1958)

MEMS micro gear-train by
Sandia National Laboratories

VLSI Micromachining / SOP / SOC

MEMS (1970)

ULSI / Nano CMOS NEMS

DRAM chip: 200 M transistors,
Wiring length 8–10 km, feature
size 100 nm, Supply ~ 1V
MARKET DEMANDS…..Present to Future
Transceive voice+ massive data  Higher speed
 Lower power
(e-mails, Internet, Camera)

 Multi to Mega function

 Functional convergence (digital + analog + RF + optical)
 System in package : Convergence of computing,
communication, consumer & Biomedical
 What is MEMS

• MEMS stands for Micro Electro Mechanical

Systems.
• It is a technique of combining Electrical and
Mechanical components together on a chip, to
produce a system of miniature dimensions ..
• By miniature, we mean dimensions less than
the thickness of human hair !!!!
Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) is a
miniature transducer comprising of electrical and
mechanical components and working in different energy
domain (mechanical, electrical, chemical, biological,
thermal, etc) to produce/actuate on electrical signal.
MEMS devices are fabricated by Micromachining process.
Micromachining technology has evolved from silicon
planar integrated circuit technology and completely
different from conventional machining process.
MEMS Components: Moving and/or non-moving
– Operate in thermal, mechanical, chemical, magnetic,
electrical, optical energy domains
Advantages
 Miniature in size
 Highly reliable
 Improved performance
 Cost effective
 Low power consumption

Applications
Automobiles, Military, Biomedical, Telecommunications,
Space, Household appliances, etc.
MICROMACHINING
Micromachining is defined to be a process
technology for shaping silicon or other material to
realize 3-D MEMS structure
– Evolved from integrated circuit technology
– Completely different from conventional machining

Rapidly emerging technology combining electrical,

electronics, mechanical, materials, chemical, optical
engineering disciplines for realisation of
microsensors, microactuators and microstructures.

Micromachining has become a dominant and

fundamental technology in the fabrication of
microsensors, micro- actuators and microstructures
 Unique Processes for MEMS
Due to the minute size and complex geometry, fabrication of micro
device components is clearly beyond the means of traditional
machine tools.
Virtually all micro fabrication processes used for ICs are used for silicon-
based MEMS and microsystems
• Photolithography / Electron Beam Lithography
• Diffusion / Implantation/ Oxidation
• CVD / LPCVD / PECVD
• Vacuum Deposition / DC-RF Sputtering
• Wet Chemical Etching – Isotropic / Anisotropic
• Dry Etching – Plasma, RIE, RIBE
In addition to that
• Double Sided Alignment and Lithography
• Etch – Stop Processes
• Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE)
• Sacrificial Layer Etching
• Wafer Bonding
• Deposition of Special Films
• LIGA / Micromolding / NIL / MCP
• Special Packaging Techniques
Silicon for MEMS
Two major factors make silicon very attractive for MEMS
1. Silicon is already widely used in the fabrication of IC
– Well established processing technology
– Batch fabrication allows reduction in price
– Resources developed for mainstream IC production
can be utilised in this non-traditional role
– Easy integration with post sensing circuitry on the
same chip
2. Excellent mechanical properties of silicon enabling it
to effectively replace a majority of all other materials.
Silicon mechanical strength is comparable to (even
higher than) steel, but at a lower density and better
thermal conductivity.
3. Silicon and its derivatives (SiO2, Si3N4) are some of
the best electrically characterized materials.
 Silicon Micromachining
 Bulk Micromachining
 Surface Micromachining
Bulk Micromachining:
Using single crystalline silicon wafer, the bulk material
of the substrate along thickness direction is dissolved /
etched by wet chemical etchant to realize various 3-D
micromechanical structures

 Device thickness is controlled by etching/ diffusion

 Mechanical properties of bulk silicon is preserved
 Alignment required for top and bottom side of wafer
 Require etch stop mechanism
 Bulk Micromachining

Bulk micromachining along crystallographic

planes
 Surface Micromachining
This technology is based on depositing and etching
structural and sacrificial films. After deposition of thin
film, sacrificial layer is etched away, leaving a
completely assembled microstructure
 Maximum possible thickness of the microstructure is limited
to that of the deposited film
 Surface Micromachining

 Surface-micromachined structures can be an order of

magnitude smaller than the bulk – micromachined
structures.
 The main advantage of surface-micromachined structures is
their easy integration with integrated circuit (IC)
components, as the same wafer surface can also be
processed for IC elements.
 Striction due to Van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding.
 Thermal expansion matching between different layers is an
important issue leading to induced stress.
Limitations:
 Maximum device thickness is limited to the deposited film.
 Stiction due to van der Waals force and hydrogen bonding
 Thermal expansion matching / induced stress / measurement of
stress
 Easy integration with CMOS/BiCMOS processing technology.
Surface Micromachining: Sacrificial Layer
Technology

Key processing Steps

• Deposition and patterning of a sacrificial SiO2

layer on the substrate
• Deposition and definition of a poly-Si film
• Removal of the sacrificial oxide by lateral
etching in hydrofluoric acid (HF), that is,
etching away of the oxide underneath the
poly-Si structure
Here, Poly-Si and SiO2 are referred as the
structural and sacrificial materials,
respectively.
Cantilever Structure by Surface Micromachining
 Comparison
Bulk Micromachining Surface Micromachining

Advantages Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages

Well established Use several Relatively new
(since 1960) materials,allows for (since 1980)
new application
Rugged structure Large die areas that Small die area that Less rugged
that can with-stand give it high cost makes it cheaper structure with
vibration and shock respect to vibration
& Shock
Large mass/area Not fully integrated Fits well within IC Small mass/area,
(suitable for with IC processes process which would
accelerometers & typically reduce
capacitive sensor sensitivity
Well-characterised Limited structural Wider range of Some of the
material(ie Si) geometry possible structural geometry materials are not
well understood
MEMS Materials and Technologies
 Micromachining process techniques
Surface / bulk MM / LIGA / SU-8, elctroplating, bonding
 Microelectronics process technologies
CMOS, BiCMOS, Bipolar, SiGe, SiC
 Material models, material parameter evaluation, material
characterisation (semiconductor, polymer)
 Environmental parameter
 Assembly and Packaging
 Signal processing
 Testing

PRODUCTION ISSUES
 High yield / Low cost
 Reliability
 Functional stability
 Structural integrity
 Robust design
 Micro-scale material models
MEMS Design Issues
Demand for powerful MEMS Design Tools to analyse complex
Micromechanical systems involving multiple energy domain.
Require
Device level simulation
System level simulation
Technology / Process modeling
Proper material properties database

Present Scenario
• 3D solid modeling by 2D layout and process database
• Process simulation
• Efficient meshing algorithms
• Structural simulation using 3D FEM
• Simulator for mechanical, electrostatic, piezoresistive, piezoelectric,
fluidic, rf, optical for static, dynamic and transient conditions
• Limited coupled field analysis
• MEMS design tools: CoventorWare, Intellisuit, Taner, etc
 R & D activities on MEMS at ATC
SILICON MICROMACHINING

Microphotographs of Silicon Micro-Nozzles

MEMS INFRARED SENSOR

Silicon membrane IR detector

Microphotograph of aluminium-polysilicon thermopile detector
deposited on a bulk-micromachined membrane (2mm x 2mm x 25µm)
 What is BioMEMS ?
BioMEMS is a device or system, constructed using techniques
inspired from micro/nano scale fabrication. These are analytical
devices that combine a biologically sensitive element with a
physical / chemical transducer for processing, delivery,
manipulation, detection, analysis or construction of specific
biological/biochemical entities in a given external environment.

Paradigm shifts from traditional machine-tool based

manufacturing technology to physical- chemical-
biological oriented processes.

• Encompass all interfaces of life sciences and biomedical

disciplines with micro/nano scale systems.
• Detection of biological entities, Diagnostics tools, Drug delivery
systems, Tissue engineering, Microfluidic systems, Implantable
devices, Novel materials
 BioMEMS
Scaling…

MEMS technology (Top-down

approach) merges with Nano
technology (Bottom-up approach)
for realisation of integrated new
systems to dealt with biological
/chemical species

In addition to silicon micromachining technology……

Biocompatibility
Soft lithography, Nano imprint using Su-8 and PDMS
Self assembly technique
 BioMEMS as diagnostic tools

To detect and manipulate cells, viruses, protein,

DNA, microorganisms, etc.
Advantages:
 Reducing sensor element to the scale of target species
providing higher sensitivity
 Reduced reagent volume and associated cost
 Reduced time for diagnosis
 Miniaturisation and portable
Cantilever based detection of biochemical entities
Applications: Selectively and quantitatively detection of cells,
microorgasms, viruses, proteins, DNA and related nuclei acids
and small molecules of biological importance.
• Fabrication of thin silicon cantilever of thickness 2 - 5 micron by
micromachining process.
• Attachment of biological molecules on top side of cantilever
surface by hybridisation.
• Cantilever bends due to mass loading. The amount of bending is
detected by mechanical (stress or shift in resonant frequency),
electrical (change of potential) or optical (fluorescence) method.
MEMS for Biomedical appications
Pressure, Flow, Temperature sensors
Array of Microprobe, Micro-needle
Neural probing
Micromanipulator
Surgical microinstrument (piezoelectric driven MEMS cutter)

Microfluidic device
 Lab on a chip
 micro total analysis system
 Electric field mediated cell lysing
 Microvalve and pump for drug delivery
 Micro-mixing
 Electro-stretching of DNA
 Glimpse of BioMEMS

A gold dot, 50 nm fused to the end of a

cantilevered oscillator. A one-molecule- Electrostatic micromotor
thick layer of a chemicaldeposited on the Fan Long-Sen et. al, Sensors
gold adds a mass of about 6 attograms, Resonance shift due to single Cell Actuators 20, 41- 47
which is measurable. www.hgc.cornell.edu/biomems.html

Cell-based biosensor with

microelectrode array
Silicon neural probe arrays
Kewley et al, Sensors Silicon micro-needle
Actuators 58, 1997 Choi et al, Biomed. Microdev., 2007
 Micromachining of Silicon

Etchants can be categorized by using the

following characteristics:
 direction dependency (isotropic or anisotropic)
 etch rate (0.25 to 40 m/min), and its variability
 anisotropic etch rate ratio (only for anisotropic
etchants, 1:1 to 400:1 for (100)/(111)-planes)
 dopant dependence / selectivity
 temperature of etching (20 to 100C)
 Silicon Etching

Isotropic Etching:

Removes material equally in all crystallographic direction,

results in undercutting and uncontrolled etch features
Anisotropic Etching:
Crystallographic dependent etching, where etch rates vary
according to the type of plane exposed to the etchant.ie, a
given crystal plane of a semiconductor etches faster than
other planes

Isotropic Etchant for Si: Mixture of HNO3 & HF in H2O or

CH3CooH

Anisotropic Etchant for Si: Ethyline Diamine Pyrocatechol

(EDP), Potassium Hydroxide (KOH), Hydrazine, TMAH
(tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, (CH3)4 NOH), NH4OH
 Isotropic Wet Etchant for Silicon

Isotropic Etchant for Si: Mixture of HNO3 & HF in H2O

Si + 2H+  Si2+ + H2
H2O  (OH)- + H+

Si2+ + 2 (OH)-  Si(OH)2

Si(OH)2  SiO2 + H2

SiO2 + 6HF  H2SiF6 + 2H2O

H2SiF6 is soluble in water. The overall reaction with HNO3 is

Si + HNO3 + 6HF  H2SiF6 + HNO2 + 2H2O + H2

Anisotropic Wet Etching of Silicon
 Anisotropic Wet Etching of Silicon

W = w0 – 2h cot (54.740)
= w0 – 1.4 h
 Anisotropic Wet Etchants of Single Crystal Silicon
Hydrazine (N2H4.H2O ) : extremely toxic and its vapor is explosive
EDP : also is toxic, but to a lesser extent than hydrazine
KOH : has the disadvantage of being incompatible with IC process
TMAH [(CH3)4NOH] : nontoxic and IC compatible but fewer studies exist
on this system, results in very flat faces
A number of issues have to be considered in the final choice
of the etchant
 Ease of handling
 Toxicity
 Etch rate, Etch stop, Etch selectivity
 IC compatibility
 Topology of the etch ground
 Mask material and thickness of the mask
 EDP Etching

EDP (a mixture of Ethelene Diamine, Pyrocatechol and water) is

an important anisotropic etchant, used for silicon
micromachining
Features of EDP etchant:
 Highly selective over materials like SiO2, Si3N4, Cr and Au
 Etch rate depends on temperature, composition of etchant
density of atomic bonds on exposed silicon plane
 Orientation, size and shape of the oxide opening on the
wafer surface determine the type of hole formed
 Very thin membrane of uniform thickness can be created
by forming a heavily boron (P+) layer
 EDP is toxic and not easy to handle
 The solution degrades if it comes in contact with oxygen
 EDP Etchant Composition
Composition of EDP solution:
Water (110cc)
Ethelene diamine (380cc)
Pyrocatechol (55gm)
When preparing the solution, the last ingredient added should be
H2O since the solution then starts to react with O2
Etching temperature - 100ºC
Etch Environment – N2
Etch rate of <100> silicon plane – 25m/hr
EDP is highly selective over SiO2 and so the HF dip before etching is
crucial, otherwise native oxide will prevent any etching
EDP Etching Apparatus

An experimental setup for silicon membrane etching using

EDP solution
 KOH Etching
Advantages
 Most commonly used and less dangerous etchant
 Easy to handle
 Readily available and etches fast
 Smooth edge profile
 Much higher <100> to <111> etch rate ratio
Disadvantages
 Attack aluminium metal
 IC incompatible
 Selectivity to oxide is rather poor
 SiO2 etch rate in KOH is higher than EDP
 Anisotropic KOH Etching of Silicon

 Isopropyl alcohol is added to improve selectivity

 As etch selectivity over SiO2 is less than 500 at
various concentrations of KOH, SiO2 etch mask
is not adequate for long etches
 Si3N4 is an effective masking film for KOH
etchant
 As H2 bubbles come up during etching, use of a
fume cupboard is recommended
 KOH Etch Rate Study

Etch rate of Si in KOH Etch rate of Si in KOH at

solution at different different Conc.
temperature
 Anisotropic Etching Characteristics for
Different Wet Etchants for Single Crystal Si
Etchant Temp. Etch rate Etch rate Etch rate
oC (m/hr) (m/hr) (m/hr)
Si <100> Si <110> Si <111>
KOH:H2O 80 84 126 0.21
KOH 75 25 - 42 39- 66 0.5
EDP 110 51 57 1.25
N2H4:H2O 118 176 99 11
Hydrazine
NH4OH 75 24 8 1

Ratio of Etch Rate of Si in KOH + H2O 100 : 111= 400 : 1

110 : 111= 600 : 1
Tetra Methyl Ammonium Hydroxide (TMAH)
Etching
Tetra-methyl ammonium-hydroxide (TMAH), is
anisotropic silicon etchant that is gaining considerable
interest in silicon micromachining due to its excellent
silicon etch rate, etch selectivity to masking layers
(even with aluminum film), degree of anisotropy, and
relatively low toxicity.

TETRAMETHYL AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE (TMAH)

[(CH3)4NOH]
Require oxidizing agent
Does not attack aluminium
Lower <100> to <111> etch rate ratio
 Tetra Methyl Ammonium Hydroxide (TMAH)
- Important Features

 TMAH when dissolved in H2O becomes a base with pH >12

 Not toxic like EDP or inflammable like Hydrazine
 An organic material and does not contain any metal ions
making TMAH a potentially IC-compatible etching agent
 Reacts with O2 in air and so etching vessel should not be
left open for a long time
 Etch rate decreases with concentration of solution ( 1.4
m/min at 5 wt % to 0.5 m/min at 40 wt% at 90 oC,
activation energy increases from 0.6 eV at 10 wt% to 0.8 eV
at 40 wt%)
 Degree of anisotropy ( etch rate ratio of <111> :<100>)
is good (nearly 0.02 and maximum of 0.05 at approx 5 wt%
and 22 wt% respectively)
 Silicon Etching in TMAH
 Etching conditions
Etching in different concentrations and different
temperatures
Etchant concentrations: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 wt. %
Etching temperatures: 70°, 80°, 90° C
 Influence of TMAH concentration
TMAH silicon etchant produces rough surface on silicon
(100) planes.
 Improvement to the TMAH etch rate
Ammonium persulfate(AP) is added at regular interval
to produce smooth etched surface.
 Silicon Etching in TMAH

 Selectivity to aluminium:
Silicic acid is added to make TMAH selective to
silicon over aluminium
 Improvement of TMAH selectivity to aluminium:
Dual-doped (silicic acid and ammonium persulfate) to
TMAH silicon etchant
 Selectivity to Aluminium
 Effect of the TMAH solution on aluminium mask
- Silicic acid is added to make TMAH selective to
silicon over aluminium
 Etch rate study of TMAH etchants
50
50
TMAH 5wt%,
40 80oC
45 AP addition for every 6
ETCH RATE ( m / hr )

ETCH RATE (m / hr )

min
30
40

20 35

30
10

25
0
65 70 75 80 85 90 95
TEMPERATURE ( o C)
20
TMAH 5wt.% TMAH 10 wt.%
TMAH 15wt.% TMAH 20wt.% 1 2 3 4 5
TMAH 25wt.%
AMMONIUM PERSULFATE(g/l)
Study of etch rate of Si inTMAH solution at Study of etch rate of Si in TMAH solution
different temperatures and at different concentrations
by adding AP for every 6 min.

 Etch rate  Oxidizer doped TMAH

solution
 Surface quality
 Improve surface smoothness
 Surface Micro-roughness Study of TMAH Etching

Roughness of etched Si surfaces in (kA 0)

45

70 40

5 wt.% 35
60 700C
SiO2 etch rate(A / hr)

30 800C
900C
0

50
25

20
40
15
30
10

5
20

0
10
5 10 15 20 25
70 75 80 85 90
0 TMAH concentrations (wt.%)
Temperature ( C)
SiO2 etch rate for different temperature with Avarage roughness of silicon surface etched in different
TMAH conc. of 5 wt.% TMAH concentrations and temperatures
 Aluminium Masking for TMAH Etching

 Selectivity to Aluminium:

 Effect of the TMAH solution on aluminium mask.

— Silicic acid is added to make TMAH selective to
silicon over aluminium

 Improvement of TMAH Selectivity to Aluminium

Dual-doped( Silicic acid and ammonium persulfate) to TMAH silicon
etchant
– The addition of ammonium persulfate to silicic acid-doped TMAH
solution has an even more improvement on the silicon etch rate
than for undoped solutions
ETCH STOP MECHANISMS
 Etch Stop Techniques

Etch process can be made selective by the use of :–

1. Time Etch Stop : most trivial way to stop etching – the
wafer is removed from the etch bath after a given time of
etching
2. Dopants - heavily doped regions etch more slowly, known
as Doping Selective Etching (DSE). Because of heavy boron
doping, the lattice constant of silicon decreases leading to
highly strain layers that show slip-planes.
3. Etching may be stopped electrochemically, known as Bias-
dependent Selective Etching (BSE).
A region where wet (or dry) etching tends to slowdown (or
halt) is called an etch-stop.
 Time Etch Stop
 The obvious advantage is the simplicity of the process
 Time etch stop may be acceptable if thick structures are
required ( > 20 m )
May not be accepted as production method because of the
following limitations:
1. The etch rate of all etchants is considerably influenced by
transport of agents in the solution to the wafer and by
transport of etch products away from the wafer. This results
in the spread in etch rates
2. The thickness of the wafers varies from wafer to wafer, and
the thickness of a single wafer is not homogeneous. The
variation is typically 5 –10 m/hr between wafers
3. The quality of the surfaces that are obtained during etching
is poor after long etching time
 Boron Etch Stop

 Boron (B+) etch stop is widely used etch stop mechanism based
on the fact that heavily boron doped silicon etches much
slower that low doped silicon
 The etch stop works in all alkaline-based etchants so far
investigated
 The etch rate starts to slow down at a boron concentration
around 2-3 x 1019 cm-3 , it is found to be proportional to the
inverse fourth power of boron concentration
 The activation energy seems to increase by  0.1 eV at high
doping levels and thus etch rate reduces drastically
 The critical concentration is slightly temperature dependent

 The decrease of the etch rate is nearly independent of the

crystallographic orientation
 Boron Etch Stop in EDP, KOH and TMAH

 For lower KOH concentration, fall of etch rate is

steepest, but for higher KOH concentration the etch stop
is much less effective
 In KOH one needs a concentration of 1020 cm-3 in order to
reduce etch rate by a factor of 100
 B+ etch stop improves considerably in KOH solution
saturated with IPA but the disadvantage is the emergence
of large hillocks
 B+ etch stop technique is not much effective in TMAH
etchant. There is a reduction of the etch rate of a factor
of up to 50 at high TMAH concentration, and the dopant
concentration needs to be considerably larger ( several
1020 cm-3) than in EDP or KOH
 Dopant-dependent Etch Rates
of Selected Silicon Wet Etchant

Etchant Temp <100> Etch <100> Etch

(Diluent) (oC) Rate Rate (m/min)
(m/min) for for boron
boron doping doping ~ 1020
<< 1019 cm-3 cm-3
EDP (H2O) 115 0.75 0.015

KOH (H2O) 85 1.4 0.07

NaOH (H2O) 65 0.25 – 1.0 0.025 – 0.1

 Boron Etch Stop - Limitations

 Heavy doping with boron in Si enhances the conductivity of

silicon to great extent so that it is no longer suitable for
electrical purposes (integration of ICs).
 At a critical impurity concentration the stress leads to
plastic deformation in the doped layer, resulting in a strain
layer at very high doping levels
 Since the boron atom is smaller than silicon atoms, the
lattice constant decreases if more boron is dissolved in Si
and the doped layer will be strained. Membranes and micro-
bridges fabricated using boron etch stop are under tensile
stress
 Electrochemical Etch Stop/Bias-Dependent
 Electrochemical passivation technique is an attractive
alternative to heavy boron-doping layer to create diaphragms
 A voltage is applied to the Si wafer (anode) and a counter
electrode (cathode – pt) in the etching solution
 In bias dependent etching, oxidation is promoted by a
positive voltage applied to Si, causing an accumulation of
holes at Si – solution interface
 Conventional ECE etch – stop technique is an attractive
method for fabricating both microsensors and
microstructures
 It has the potential for allowing reproducible fabrication of
moderately doped n-type silicon microstructures with good
thickness control
Electro Chemical Etching (ECE) of Silicon

In electrochemical etching of silicon, a voltage is applied to the

silicon wafer (anode), a counter electrode (cathode) in the
etching solution. The fundamental steps of the etching
mechanism are -
 Injection of holes into the semiconductor to raise it to a
higher oxidation state Si+
 Attachment of negatively charged hydroxyl group, OH, to
the positively charged Si
 Reaction of the hydrated silicon with the complexing agent in
the solution
 Dissolution of the reaction products into etchant solution
ECE Etch Stop Mechanism
FABRICATION OF MICROSTRUCTURE
 Fabrication of Silicon Membrane

 Growth of detect free thermal SiO2

 Removal of front side oxide for boron diffusion
protecting the backside oxide
 Boron diffusion on the front side of wafer to form
etch stop layer
 Boron concentration : 1019 – 1020 atoms/cc
Resistivity : 2 – 3 ohm / □
 Opening of window at the backside of wafer by
photolithography
 Etching of silicon in EDP solution through windows.
SiO2 acts as a mask whose etch rate in EDP is ~ 20
nm/hr compared to 20 – 30 m/hr for silicon
 IR Detector on Silicon Membrane

Silicon membrane formed by IR detector (Thermopile

micromachining (thickness: 10 Structure)
micron)
Fabrication of Silicon Micro-Nozzles

Fabrication of array of micro-nozzles of uniform size

(25×25m2 to 100×100 m2 )
Anisotropic etching solution used for nozzle etching
KOH = 44 gm, H2O = 100 cc
Isopropyl alcohol = 100 cc
Etching temperature = 80C
Etch rate = 1.4 m / min
Anisotropic etch ratio <100> : <111> = 400:1
Array of silicon micro-nozzles is used for high speed and high
quality inkjet printing
Microphotographs of Silicon Micro-Nozzles
 Fabrication of Silicon Cantilever using ECE

Experimental set-up used for
the electrochemically controlled
etching of silicon
Simplified process flow chart for the fabrication
of a cantilever beam with the one-step etch
method: (a) the processed wafer, ready to be
etched: (b) the etch stop stops at the epilayer and
continues into the isolated channels: (c) the final
structure
Microphotographs of Silicon Cantilevers
 Conclusions

 Conventional lithographic processes have been

discussed
 Different lithographic techniques have been
discussed
 NIL & CNP technologies are expected to play a
significant role for nano scale device fabrication
 LIGA and stereolithography are important for non
conventional machining
 Micromachining technology has evolved from
microelectronics technology to produce miniature
MEMS devices