A Versatile, Fast and Inexpensive Microfabrication Technique Using a One Metal and One Silicon Dioxide Film

Abstract

A versatile fabrication process that allows users to quickly construct micromachined structures using a one metal, one silicon dioxide film stack on a silicon wafer is presented. This simplified process, which we have labeled Mock CMOS or M-CMOS, (a) starts from pre-processed wafers and requires only one photolithography step, (b) provides a conductor material for actuating electrostatic and thermal devices, (c) avoids electrical shorting between metal microstructures or to the silicon substrate by using silicon dioxide as an insulator, and (d) allows quick prototyping of true CMOS-MEMS structures similar to those designed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Devices successfully microfabricated with M-CMOS include surface-normal and lateral electrostatic and thermal actuators, the majority of which were designed by forty students in an Introduction to MEMS course in Fall 2001 at Carnegie Mellon University.