DALSA's Intelligent MEMS Process

Low-temperature, low-stress silicon process adds MEMS over CMOS wafers

Intelligent MEMS bring exciting new capabilities to automotive, biomedical, RF, photonics and information technology, and DALSA Semiconductor is leading the way with exciting new capabilities in Intelligent MEMS fabrication.

Intelligent MEMS Overview

More than mere "tiny gears," intelligent MEMS integrate CMOS logic to not only sense but analyze. High-voltage CMOS can add powerful electrokinetic actuation. With all these elements in place a MEMS device can interact intelligently with the physical and chemical world.

DALSA is the leading foundry integrating CMOS, HV-CMOS, and MEMS—and our low-temperature, low-stress silicon process delivers better performance, smoother surfaces, and higher device reliability.

MEMS enable applications from inkjets and electrostatic drives to protein analysis and cell manipulation by (di)electrophoresis, intelligent drug implantable delivery, and RF devices. See some examples of MEMS structures in our MEMS gallery.

DALSA's Difference

More Info:

Presentation slides: Low-temperature MEMS processing for Intelligent MEMS over CMOS by Luc Ouellet, Director of Technology Development, DALSA Semiconductor

Low-temperature, stress-free. Our proprietary low-temperature processes (patents pending) allow us to deposit in-situ doped stress-free silicon to build MEMS on top of any CMOS or High Voltage CMOS wafers (even those from other manufacturers). This process differs fundamentally from others in the industry, which generally fabricate the MEMS first, process it extensively with chemical-mechanical polishing, sealing and protection, then add CMOS afterwards. Finally, they etch away the protective extra layers to release the MEMS. These high-temperature processes cannot integrate MEMS after a foundry's CMOS. They also place significant stresses on the MEMS component, limiting the design flexibility and reducing the performance and reliability of the finished devices.

Our novel approach is both more effective and more flexible. With 44 patents or patent applications and significant MEMS wafer volume at your service, DALSA Semiconductor's foundry offers your designs a strategic competitive advantage.

High Voltage. Our proven capabilities in High Voltage CMOS allow powerful electrostatic and electrokinetic actuation for microactuators, micropumps, and dielectrophoretic biochips.

Smoothness. Besides low temperatures and low stresses, DALSA Semiconductor also achieves significantly smoother surfaces than industry norms. The lower surface roughness significantly enhances MEMS performance and reliability in many applications: lower insertion loss in RF devices, improved mirror performance in photonic devices, higher reliability, repeatability and longer device lifetime overall.

Proven Performance

Our experience and intellectual property includes excellence in areas such as these:

• Surface micromachining with minimized mechanical stress for improved performance and reliability
• Deep, well-controlled bulk etching, again with minimized mechanical stress for moving structures
• Deep oxide etching with smooth, vertical surfaces
• Thick silica fabrication for high aspect ratio structures, improving insertion loss and birefringence
• Compensated structures to preserve mechanical and optical properties over widely ranging operating conditions
• Various hard masks combinations for dry and wet processing
• Silicon anisotropic wet etch with +/- 0.05° alignment to crystal plane;
• Low temperature V-grooves processing over CMOS
• Embedded microchannels over CMOS

DALSA Semiconductor's exceptional MEMS capabilities offer MEMS designers significant advantages in high-performance applications.

Automotive accelerometers gyroscopes tilt sensors pressure sensors (manifold, brake, exhaust, tires) Industrial pressure sensors microspectrometers ink jet nozzles infra-red sensors thermopiles bolometers RF devices switches filters resonators

Biomedical, genomics/proteomics blood pressure micro-arrays microfluidics biochips biosensors implantable drug delivery silicon microphones and audio transducers Telecom Optical switches DWDM devices V-grooves for fibre optics Micromirrors

Process Capabilities

MEMS / MOEMS Process Capabilities
Alignment:	1X & 5X, 1X Double Side, +/- 0.05° To Crystal Planes
Photoresist:	Thin & 8.5µm Thick
Oxydation/Annealing:	O2, H2, N2, HCl, Temperatures To 1250°C
Implants:	As, P, B, Medium & High Current
Epitaxy:	Sub-contracted
RTP:	Nitrogen, Oxygen, Temperatures to 1200°C
LPCVD:	Poly-Si, ISDP, Si3N4, SiO2, PSG, TEOS
PECVD:	Si3N4, SiO2, TEOS, PSG, BPSG
Spin-on:	Siloxane & Silicate SOG, Spin-on Dopants
Sputter Deposition:	Al, AlSiCu, AlSi, Collimated Ti/TiN, TiW, SiCr
Hard Masks:	Various, Metal-based
Si Crystal Etch:	TMAH, KOH Electrochemical
Isotropic Etch:	Crystal-Si, Poly-Si, Oxides, Nitride, TiW, Al Alloys, SiCr
Anisotropic	Crystal-Si, Poly-Si, Oxides, Nitride, TiW, Ti, TiN, Al Alloys
Deep Anisotropic:	Oxides, silicon, polysilicon
Backside Etch:	Wet, Dry, Crystal-Si, Poly-Si, Oxides, Nitride, TiW, Al, SiCr

For more information, contact Sales.

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