Publications Details

CMP processing issues for MEMS fabrication technology

Moy, Amy L.; Hetherington, Dale L.

A wide variety of MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) are fabricated using existing novel technologies. State-of-the art integrated circuit (IC) fabrication methods are used for the fabrication of these MEMS. The fabrication of these structures requires many process steps that include deposition, patterning, etching, and CMP. The use of CMP enables the fabrication of complex, multi-level MEMS. Similar to IC fabrication, there are concerns about non-uniformity, erosion and dishing after CMP, but because of the thickness of the materials, CMP processing issues are amplified. Unlike ICs, there is no transistor basic building block so processing must be technology specific and process development is driven by the device/system performance requirements, which are very specific to the application.