Title

Release Of Mems Devices With Hard-Baked Polyimide Sacrificial Layer

Keywords

Cantilever; Etch; Hard-baked; MEMS; ProLift; Release; RIE; Sacrificial layer

Abstract

Removal of polyimides used as sacrificial layer in fabricating MEMS devices can be challenging after hardbaking, which may easily result by the end of multiple-step processing. We consider the specific commercial co-developable polyimide ProLift 100 (Brewer Science). Excessive heat hardens this material, so that during wet release in TMAH based solvents, intact sheets break free from the substrate, move around in the solution, and break delicate structures. On the other hand, dry reactive-ion etching of hard-baked ProLift is so slow, that MEMS structures are damaged from undesirably-prolonged physical bombardment by plasma ions. We found that blanket exposure to ultraviolet light allows rapid dry etch of the ProLift surrounding the desired structures without damaging them. Subsequent removal of ProLift from under the devices can then be safely performed using wet or dry etch. We demonstrate the approach on PECVD-grown silicon-oxide cantilevers of 100 micron × 100 micron area supported 2 microns above the substrate by ∼100-micron-long 8-micron-wide oxide arms. © 2013 SPIE.

Publication Date

6-5-2013

Publication Title

Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

Volume

8682

Number of Pages

-

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2018628

Socpus ID

84878402435 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/84878402435

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