Handbook of Silicon Based MEMS Materials and Technologies

Chapter Ten. Manufacture and Processing of MEMS Structures

10.1. Introduction

The manufacture and processing of MEMS structures is generally referred to as micromachining. It consists of the sequential realization of material deposition, patterning and etching processes that incrementally modify the substrate and/or a multilayer structure on it in order to realize three-dimensional shapes with specific electromechanical functionalities, as discussed in Chapters 22 through 29 of Part IV of this book.

Through the years, the set of micromachining processes has grown into a mature toolbox offering numerous alternatives depending on the application and material requirements. In surface micromachining, as an example, the growth of different layers ...