Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

Abstract: Micromachining and micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies can be used to produce complex structure, devices, and systems on the scale of micrometres. MEMS is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators and electronics on a common silicon substrates through microfabrification technology. MEMS is an enabling technology allowing the development of smart products, augmenting the computational ability of microelectronics with the perception and control capabilities of microsensors and microactuators and expanding the space of possible designs and applications. There are numerous possible applications for MEMS. s a brea!through technology, allowing unparalled synergy between previously unrelated fields such as biology and microelectronics, many new MEMS applications will emerge, expanding beyond that which is currently identified or !nown. This paper reviews the scope of technology and the application it addresses. "t includes a short analysis of future opportunities. This paper also describes the micromachining techni#ues used in the fabrication of MEMS. Keywords: Micromachining, Microsystems, (iezoelectric actuation, Electrostatic actuation, Thermal actuation, Magnetic- actuation. many companies and institution. The technology consists of large portfolio of design and fabrication processes, many borrowed from integrated circuit industry. The development of MEMS is inherently interdisciplinary, necessitating an understanding of MEMS components as well as end applications. Due to the enormous breadth and diversity of the devices and systems that are being miniaturized, the acronym MEMS is not particularly apt one (i.e. the field is more than simply micro, mechanical and electrical systems . !ther names for this general field of miniaturization include Microsystems technology (MST , popular in Europe, and micromachines, popular in "sia (# . $. M"%&'M %(")")* The needs for miniaturization of various ultra precision items utilized for producing highly precision machines and e$uipment necessitate the development of manufacturing process capable of performing micromanufacturing activities. The emergence of MEMS has strongly enhanced the use of fewer and harder materials, brittle materials and their micromachining technologies. " set of new technologies useful for successful international competitive development is micromachining, which satisfy many of the present industrial needs in the manufacturing. "ccording to %&'( committee of (hysical and %hemical machining (rocesses, )machining,* means machining the dimensions in the range of #+#,, um. "lthough many of the microfabrication techni$ues and materials used to produce MEMS have been borrowed from the &% industry, the field of MEMS also driven the development and refinement of other microfabrication processes and materials not traditionally used by the &% industry. This paper briefly reviews selected micro machining processes capable of sub-micron structure to large structure micro. /arge numbers of micro machine processes or presently used for the various 0inds of applications.

+. ")T&',-%T"') Micromachining and Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS technology can be used to produce comple. structure, devices, and systems on the scale of micrometers. Micromechanical structures and systems are miniturised devices that enable the operation of comple. systems. They e.ist today in many environments, especially medical, consumer, industrial and aerospace. Their potential for penetration into a broad range of applications is real, supported by strong developmental activities at

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(rocess utilizing tool as in conventional machining process hardly achieve small amount of hard material removal by mechanical force or shear or shear phenomenon. The machinable size is also limited because of the elastic deformation of micro tool or wor0 piece. These processes are only suitable for 1D products and hardly achieve unit removal at atomic level. !n the other hand 2on-conventional Machining processes using tool or tool in the form of shape i.e. Electro Discharge Micromachining (EDMM . /aser 3eam Machining (/3M , 4ltrasonic Micromachining (4SMM . "brasive 5et Machining ("5M etc. which has been very successful in the large structure micromachining inherently achieves very small unit removal. These processes have been found to be very suitable for micromachining because of having remar0able advantages. Machining force in these processes such as than that of in conventional machining processes such as cutting, milling, drilling etc. Metal chips can be removed with a very small force in processes such as EDM, 4SM and /3M etc (6 .
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#. Material deposition, including thin film deposition and bonding processes. 6. (attern definition using lithography. 1. Etching. Different sub-micron micro machining techni$ues have been summarized in the Table # and 6.

The ma7ority of sub-micron micromachining procedures involve two types of interaction8 electromagnetic radiation (e.g. optical, 49 or :-ray photons or charged particles (electronics, low energy heavy ions, high energy light ions &n general the micromachining procedures based on electromagnetic radiation re$uire mas0s. &n mas0 processes a selective pattern of radiation is transmitted through a structured mas0 on to a resist material, and subse$uent development of the e.posed resist using specific chemicals can produce microstructures. The use of charged particle techni$ues for micromachining therefore is essentially limited to direct write processes, where a focused charged particle beams is scanned over a material in a specific pattern to produce microstructures. "lthough the detect write processes has the advantage that mas0s are not re$uired, it has an obvious limitation in that the production of micro components is a serial process that has greatly reduced efficiency for multiple component production(; .!ptical lithography, :-ray lithography (/&< ,deep 49 lithography, electron beam direct writing are some of the widely used sub-micron micromachining methods. The vast ma7ority of methods are condensed into three ma7or categories=

5. M TE&" 1S 0'& MEMS The choice substrate materials for MEMS are very broad, but crystalline silicon is by far, the most common. %omplementing silicon is a host of materials that can be deposited as thin films. These include polysilicon, amorphous silicon, silicon o.ides and nitrides, glass, and organics polymers as well as host of metals. %rystallographic plane play important role in the design and fabrication of silicon based MEMS and also affect some mechanical properties of Silicon. Three physical effects commonly used in the micromechanical sensor and actuators= (iezoresistivity, piezoelectricity and thermoelectricity (# .

6. M"%&' S7STEM %'M8')E)TS " micro system will typically comprise of components from one or more of the three classes= microsensors, to detect changes in the system>s environment8 an intelligent component that ma0es decisions based on changes detected by the sensors8 and microactuators, by which the system changes its environment. The basic sensing and actuation system vary considerably from one design to another, with significant conse$uences to control electronics. Design considerations are many8 they include specifications of end applications, functionality, process feasibility and economics 7ustification. Three general categories from the total e.tent of the MEMS= sensors, actuators and passive structures. Sensors are the transducers that convert mechanical, thermal are any other form of energy into electrical energy8 actuators do actually the opposite (? .
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and piezoelectricity are two sensing techni$ues widely used for MEMS sensors, &mpurity -doped silicon e.hibits piezoresistive behaviors, which lies at the core of many pressure and acceleration designs. Measuring the change in the resistance and amplifying the corresponding output signal tends to be rather simple re$uiring the basic 0nowledge of analog circuit design. &n contrast, capacitive sensing relies on an e.ternal physical parameter changing either the spacing or the relative dielectric constant between two plates of the capacitor. The advantages of capacitive are very low power consumption and relative stability with temperature. The circuit that is used to convert changes in the capacitance into an output voltage can be substantially intricate if the change in the capacitance is small, yet another sensing approach utilizes electromagnetic signals to detect and measure a physical parameter. Magneto resistive sensors on the read heads of high-density computer dis0 drives measure the change in conductivity of a material slab in response to magnetic field of the storage bits. &n @all effect devices, a magnetic field induces a voltage in a direction orthogonal to current flow (# . (A .
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Micromachining and MEMS are the technologies well suited to improve the performance, size and cost of the sensing system. Bor this reason the greatest commercial successes in MEMS are microsensors and they represent the ma7ority of MEMS developed to date. "lthough historically, the greatest demand and most research and development activity has been on pressure sensor and accelerometers, the field of MEMS is maturing and the diversity of the applications and sensor technologies has been increased tremendously. The actuation option available in MEMS are strain gauges, capacitive position detectors, pressure sensors, inertial sensors, magnetometers, thermal sensors, chemical sensors, polymer based gas sensors, resonant sensors, electrochemical sensors, molecular -specific sensors, cell based sensors etc. although it is impossible to describe each micro sensor technology in detail the most prominent microsensors technologies are described below (# . (A .
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The development of micro actuators is less mature than the micro sensor because of the initial lac0 of the appropriate applications and the difficulty to reliable couple microactuators to the microscopic world. " complete shift in the paradigm becomes necessary to thin0 actuation on a miniature scale. The actuation options available in MEMS are electrostatic, piezoelectric, thermal, magnetic and phase recovery using shape-memory alloys illustrate the diversity and the myriad of actuation options available. Each method has its own advantages, disadvantages and appropriate set if applications. The choice of actuation depends on mature of application, ease of integration with fabrication process and economics 7ustification .The following subsections discuss each briefly (# . (A .
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The ob7ective of modern sensing is the transducing of a specific physical parameter to the e.clusion of other interfering parameters, into electrical energy. !ccasionally, an intermediate conversion step ta0es place. (ressure or acceleration is first converted to electricity. (erhaps most common of all modern techni$ues is temperature measurement using the dependence of various material properties on temperature. (iezoresistivity

Electrostatic actuation relies on the attractive force between two plates or an element carrying opposite>s charges. " natural e.tension of electrostatic actuation is close loop systems employing capacitive sensing. Chen the sense circuits detect the two plates separating under the effect an e.ternal electrostatic feedbac0 voltage is immediately applied by the control electronics to counteract the disturbance and maintain a fi.ed capacitance. The magnitude of the feedbac0 voltage then measure of the disturbing force. This feature is integral to the closed -loop operation of many accelerometers and yaw rate sensors (# .

6.+.$.$ 8"E9'E1E%T&"% %T- T"') (iezoelectric actuation can provide significantly large forces, especially if thic0 piezoelectric films are used. %ommercially available (iezoelectric cylinders can provide up to a few 2ewton>s if force with applied potentials of the few hundred volts. 3oth electrostatic and piezoelectric methods offer the low power consumption since electric current is very small. The piezoelectric effect mentioned previously for use in force sensors also wor0s in reverse. &f a voltage is applied across a film of piezoelectric material a force is generated. E.amples of how this may be used are given in figure #.&n (figure #a . " layer of piezoelectric material is deposited on a beam. Chen a voltage is applied, the stress generated causes the beam to bend (figure #b . The same principle can be applied

can bend if made sufficiently complaint. This method also depends on the absolute temperature of the actuator. Third distinct method utilizes a suspended beam of same homogenous material with one end anchored to a supporting frame of same material. @eating the same beam to a temperature above that of the frame causes a differential elongation of the beam>s free end, with respect to the frame. @olding this free end stationary gives rise to the force proportional to the beam length and temperature differential. Such an actuator delivers a ma.imal force with zero displacement, conversely, no force when the displacement is ma.imal. Designs operating between theses two e.tremes can provide both force and displacement. " system of mechanical lin0ages can optimize the output of actuator by trading off force for displacement, vice-versa. "ctuation in this case is independent of fluctuation in ambient temperature because it relies on the difference in the temperature between the beam and the supporting frame (A . 6.+.$.6 M *)ET"% %T- T"') /orenz forces form the dominant mechanism in magnetic actuation on a miniaturized scale. This is largely due to the difficulty in depositing permanently magnetized in films. Electrical current in a conductive element that is located within a magnetic field gives rise to an electromagnetic force-the /orenz force-in a direction perpendicular to the current and magnetic field. This force is proportional to the current, magnetic field and length of the element. /orenz forces are useful for closed loop feedbac0 in systems employing electromagnetic sensing. Two yaw-rate sensors ma0e use of this method. Magnetic actuators microstructures are often fabricated by electroplating techni$ues, using 2ic0el. This is particularly common with /&<". 2ic0el is a (wea0ly Berro magnetic material, so lends itself to use in magnetic micro actuators. "n e.ample o a magnetic micro actuator is the linear motor shown in figure 6.The magnetic resting in the channel is levitated and driven bac0 and forth by switching current into the various coils either side of the channel at the appropriate time (# . (? .

to thin silicon membranes (figure #c . Chen a voltage is applied, the membrane deforms (figure #d , this, when combined with micro valves can be used to pump fluids through a micro fluidic system. !ne problem with piezoelectric devices is ma0ing the films thic0 enough that high enough voltages can be applied without dielectric brea0down (spar0sDshort circuits across the film (? . (A . 6.+.$.5 T(E&M 1 %T- T"') Thermal actuation consumes more than electrostatic actuation and piezoelectric actuation, but can provide, despite its gross inefficiencies, actuation force in order of hundreds of millinewtons or higher. "t least three distinct approaches of thermal actuation have emerged. The first capitalizes on the difference in the co-efficient of thermal e.pansions between two 7oined layers of dissimilar materials to cause bending with temperature. &n another approach 0nown as thermo pneumatic actuation a li$uid is heated inside a sealed cavity. (ressure from e.pansion and evaporation e.erts a force on the cavity wall which

6.+.$.: %T- T"') -S")* S( 8E ; MEM'&7 11'7S Shape memoryEshape alloys undoubtedly offer the highest energy available for actuation. &t can provide very large forces when the temperature of the materials rises above the critical temperature of the materials rises above the critical temperature, typically around #FFc.This thermally driven phase change from low temperature wea0 martensite crystal phase to a higher temperature and very rigid austenite crystal phase change can be e.ploited for the micro actuation. The challenge with shapememory alloy lies in the difficulty of integrating their fabrication with conventional silicon manufacturing processes. "s the research and development of microactuators matures, the devices are finding broader application and acceptance by the mar0et place, even though their development is still time consuming and costly. Most of the microactuators are custom developed for specific applications8 no microactuators standards yet e.ist (# . 6.$ *E)E& 1 ,ES"*) MET(','1'*7 Starting with the list of specifications for the MEMS device or system, the design process begins with the identification of general operating principle and overall structural elements, then proceed onto analysis and simulation and finally onto outlining of the individual steps in the fabrication process. This is often iterative process involving continuous ad7ustments to the shape, structure and fabrications steps (# . :. M"%&'S7STEM Microsystem consists of microsensors, circuits (to determine an action based on the sensor input and microactuators (to effect the computed change . &deally the power source and communication would also be miniaturized to the same scale. The microfabrication of an entire system represents the ultimate accomplishment of the on going revolution in miniaturization. Micro total analysis system, Microsystems for genetic analysis, Micropumps and Microvalves, Micro filters and Microneedlesa are some of the e.amples of microsystem. The miniaturization of a complete system represents one of the greatest challenges to the field of MEMS. 'educing the cost and size of high performance sensors and actuators can improve the cost performance of the macroscopic system, but the miniaturization of entire high performance systems can result in radically new possibilities and benefits to society. " microsystem can be considered to be any device or unit made up of a

number of microengineered components. " convenient model of a micro system is that of a control system (figure 1 = many proposed Microsystems ta0e this form. Microsensors detect changes in the parameter to be controlled8 electronic control logic then operates microactuators based on information from the sensors, to bring the parameter to be controlled within the desired limits (? .

<. %'MME&%" 1"9 T"') '0 MEMS Enormous commercial opportunities e.ist for MEMS products. Since MEMS are often essentially miniaturized versions of e.isting commercially successfully products, a careful analysis of the costs involved with developing and manufacturing a MEMS based alternative must be considerably cheaper. The ma7or problem with MEMS commercialization is the lac0 of sufficient standards for the pac0aging and interface. Cithout the standards, it is difficult for the field to offer cost minimized solutions guaranteed to wor0 in e.isting system (A . =. )E/ '88'&T-)"T"ES (MEMS ") S8 %E) There is a strong push to use MEMS on future space mission, due to all of their potential advantages li0e smaller size, lower weight8 lower power consumption etc. in addition to reducing the size of onG board instrumentation, MEMS technology has been used to produce micro propulsion systems. "n important concern is the impact of high level of radiation for e.tended periods of time on the performance of MEMS (A . >. %')%1-S"')S Micromachining and MEMS technology are the powerful tools for enabling miniaturization of sensors, actuators and systems. MEMS offer a new paradigm for these tools= microinstrumrnts, micromachines, and microsensors, and the integration of all three. These microcomponents and microinstruments should improve and e.tend the performance of macroscopic instruments, sensors, vehicles and other electronic and

electromechanical systems. 'eductions in cost and increases in performance of microsensors. Microactuators and microsystem will enable an unprecented level of $ualifications. Despite the challenges involved in the commercializing MEMS, the number and scale of such commercializing efforts are growing rapidly. &n fact, in the near future MEMS may play a tremendously significant role in the never-ending e.ploration in space. ?. &E0E&E)%ES H#I @MT limited, *Mechatronics*, Tata-Mc<raw @ill G<races-@ill (ublishing %ompany, 2ew Delhi. H6I www.dban0s.demon.co.u0DuengDinde..html H1I www.honeywell.comDsensing H;I www.mensnet.orgDnewsD#FA,6J?#F#-F H?I www.arriuta.eduDacsD7mirecesDMEMSclassDM"& page.html