Fabrication of nanoelectromechanical systems in single crystal silicon using silicon on insulator substrates and electron beam lithography
Authors:
- 1 November 1997
- journal article
- Published by American Vacuum Society in Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena
- Vol. 15 (6) , 2760-2763
Abstract
We have demonstrated a process for fabricating nanometer-scale electromechanical structures of diverse geometries in single crystal silicon, using silicon on insulator substrates. We pattern the substrate using high resolution electron beam lithography with 100 keV electrons followed by Al evaporation and liftoff. The Al is used as an etch mask in CF4 reactive ion etching to pattern the top silicon layer. We then undercut structures using a buffered oxide etch. The structures were made from substrates having a top silicon thickness of 200 or 50 nm, and a buried oxide thickness of 400 nm. With this process we have made a variety of movable structures. We describe the performance of an electrostatically driven Fabry–Perot interferometer that consists of a μm sized pad suspended by wires that are 100–200 nm wide. We have also made much smaller mechanical structures such as suspended silicon beams as narrow as 30 nm.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Fabrication of high frequency nanometer scale mechanical resonators from bulk Si crystalsApplied Physics Letters, 1996
- Fabrication of a mechanical antireflection switch for fiber-to-the-home systemsJournal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 1996