M.

SAHITH CHANDAN
Roll. No: 05P71A0438
B.TECH 4/4 E.C.E
Ph. No: 9985066696
Evolution of MEMS
 Imagine a machine so small that it is imperceptible to the
human eye. Imagine working machines no bigger than a
grain of pollen. Imagine thousands of these machines
batch fabricated on a single piece of silicon, for just a few
pennies each. Imagine a world where gravity and inertia
are no longer important, but atomic forces and surface
science dominate.
 You are now entering the microdomain, a world occupied
by an explosive technology known as MEMS. A world of
challenge and opportunity, where traditional engineering
concepts are turned upside down, and the realm of the
"possible" is totally redefined.
What Is ‘MEMS’?
 MEMS is an acronym derived from MICRO ELECTRO
MECHANICAL SYSTEMS. 'Smart sensors' is probably the
most appropriate designation for emerging new product
technologies.

 As their name implies, micro-electro- mechanical- systems

(MEMS), fabricated using micro-machining techniques,
which enables many different components to fit on a small
silicon microchip, which produce greater functionality
and precision than larger devices.
Energy Domains
 Thermal (temperature, heat and heat flow)
 Mechanical (force, pressure, velocity, acceleration,
position)
 Chemical (concentration, pH, reaction rate)
 Magnetic (field intensity, flux density, magnetization)
 Radiant (intensity, wavelength, polarization, phase)
 Electrical (voltage, charge, current)
How Small are MEMS?
 Tomorrow, if you see a bug, be careful, because that may be
a spy sent by the enemies. With the advent of MEMS you
can create any machine at microscopic or perhaps at
nanoscale. They are the size of a grain of salt or the eye of a
needle that integrate mechanical elements, sensors and
actuators on a common silicon substrate.

 MEMS are made up of components between 1 to 100

micrometers in size (i.e. 0.001 to 0.1 mm) and MEMS
devices generally range in size from 20 micrometers (20
millionths of a meter) to a millimeter.
Necessity of MEMS
 The small mass MEMS components greatly reduce the familiar design
constraints of gravity and inertia.
 Each MEMS application has a unique set of design specifications.
There is no single technical barrier to the implementation of MEMS
manufacturing.

Principles of MEMS
 MEMS technology extends conventional microelectronics technology
by adding physical motion to the movement of electrons in circuits.
 The micromechanical components are fabricated using compatible
“micromachining” processes that selectively etch away the parts of the
silicon wafer or add new structural layers to form the mechanical and
electromechanical devices.
Materials used in MEMS
 MEMS technology can be implemented using a number of
different materials and manufacturing techniques; the choice of
which will depend on the device being created and the market
sector in which it has to operate.
 Silicon: Silicon is the material used to create most integrated circuits. In
single crystal form, silicon is an almost perfect Hookean material, meaning
that when it is flexed there is virtually no hysteresis and hence almost no
energy dissipation.
 Polymers: crystalline silicon is still a complex and relatively expensive
material to produce. Polymers on the other hand can be produced in huge
volumes, with a great variety of material characteristics. MEMS devices can
be made from polymers by processes such as injection moulding,
embossing or stereolithography.
 Metals: Metals can be deposited by electroplating, evaporation, and
sputtering processes. Commonly used metals include gold, nickel,
aluminum, chromium, titanium, tungsten, platinum, and silver.
Microelectromechanical Systems
Processes
 Deposition processes
 Photolithography
 Etching processes
 Wet etching
 Dry etching
 Reactive ion etching (RIE)
 Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE)
 Xenon difluoride etching
Why Micromachines?
 Minimize energy and materials use in manufacturing
 Redundancy and arrays
 Integration with electronics
 Reduction of power budget and faster devices
 Increased selectivity and sensitivity
 Exploitation of new effects through the breakdown of
continuum theory in the micro-domain
 Cost/performance advantages
 Improved reproducibility (batch fabrication)
 Improved accuracy and reliability
 Minimally invasive (e.g. pill camera)
Fabrication Technologies
 The three characteristic features of MEMS fabrication
technologies:
 Miniaturization: Miniaturization enables the production of
compact, quick-response devices.
 Multiplicity: Multiplicity refers to the batch fabrication
inherent in semiconductor processing, which allows
thousands or millions of components to be easily and
concurrently fabricated.
 Microelectronics: Microelectronics provides the intelligence
to MEMS and allows the monolithic merger of sensors,
actuators, and logic to build closed-loop feedback
components and systems.
IC Fabrication
 The successful miniaturization and multiplicity of
traditional electronics systems would not have been
possible without IC fabrication technology.

 The major steps in IC fabrication technology are film

growth, doping, lithography, etching, dicing, and
packaging.

 Manufacturing processes allow for the monolithic

integration of microelectromechanical structures with
driving, controlling, and signal-processing electronics.
Bulk Micromachining and Wafer Bonding
 Bulk micromachining is an extension of IC technology for
the fabrication of 3D structures.

 The two key capabilities that make bulk micromachining a

viable technology are:
 Anisotropic etchants of Si
 Etch masks and etch-stop techniques

 Two additional processing techniques have extended the

range of traditional bulk micromachining technology: deep
anisotropic dry etching and wafer bonding.
Surface Micromachining

 Surface micromachining enables the fabrication of

complex multicomponent integrated micromechanical
structures that would not be possible with traditional bulk
micromachining.

 This technique encases specific structural parts of a device

in layers of a sacrificial material during the fabrication
process.

 Surface micromachining uses layers deposited on the

surface of a substrate as the structural materials, rather
than using the substrate itself.
Micromolding
 In the micromolding process, microstructures are
fabricated using molds to define the deposition of the
structural layer.

 The structural material is deposited only in those areas

constituting the microdevice structure, in contrast to bulk
and surface micromachining, which feature blanket
deposition of the structural material followed by etching to
realize the final device geometry.

 This process can be used for the manufacture of high-

aspect-ratio 3D microstructures in a wide variety of
materials such as metals, polymers, ceramics, and glasses.
Applications of MEMS
 Resonant Gate Transistor:
 Automotives:
 MEMS tuning fork gyro:
 Measures angular rotation rate

 A proof mass attached to springs is forced to oscillate in the

horizontal plane. A voltage is applied to a sensing electrode (sense
plate) below the proof mass, creating an electrical field.
 The Coriolis force imparted by angular rotation causes the proof
mass to oscillate in the vertical direction, which, in turn, changes
the gap between the proof mass and the sense plate
 This generates an AC current with amplitude proportional to the
rotation rate
 Blood Pressure Sensors:
 Medical Diagnostics:
 Pill Camera
 MEMS Market for Mobile Phones:
 Silicon microphone: Improves the manufacturability of
microphones for similar performance compared to Electret
Condensor Microphone (ECD)
 3D accelerometers: Adds functions for man machine interface and
silent mode activation
 RF MEMS passive and active devices: Provides better integration
of passive devices for RF module and faster frequency agility
 Gyroscope for camera stabilisation and GPS: Enables real digital
imaging, preserves the GPS signal
 Microfuel cell: Provides longer lifetime for the batteries

 Chemical and Biochip: Personal weather station and health care

monitor MS Market for Mobile Phones
 1 GHz NEMS Resonator:

Si double-ended tuning fork

 Security purposes:
 MEMS fingerprint sensor
 capacitance change ∆c
 Computers and Communications:
 Using MEMS technology can significantly improve electrical
components such as inductors and tunable capacitors compared to
their integrated counterparts. This will improve the overall
performance of communication circuits, while the total circuit area,
power consumption and cost will be reduced.

 Bio-MEMS:
 Applications in medical and health related technologies from Lab-
On-Chip to MicroTotalAnalysis (biosensor, chemosensor).

 Optical switching technology:

 Which is used for switching technology and alignment for data
communications.
Conclusion
 MEMS prove to be a promising technology for future
sensors and actuators.
 Tend to decrease size, enhance performance, and lower the
cost of transducer in market is made possible by the
success of MEMS technology.
 An almost infinite number of radial applications are
possible because of its potential, nearly limitless
functionality.
 The promise of MEMS is increasingly capturing the
attention of new and old industries as more and more of
their challenges are solved with MEMS.
Information Resources
 Journals:
 Journal of Micromechanical Systems (JMEMS)
 Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (JMM)
 Micromachine Devices
 Sensors Magazine

 Online Resources:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEMS#Surface_micromachining
 http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/mems/overview.php
 Introduction to Microengineering:
http://www.dbanks.demon.co.uk/ueng/
 MEMS Exchange http://www.mems-exchange.org/
 MEMS Clearinghouse http://www.memsnet.org/
THANKING YOU