Wafer-level reliability characterization for wafer-level-packaged microbolometer with ultrasmall array size

For the development of a small and low-cost microbolometer, wafer-level reliability characterization techniques for vacuum-level packaged wafers are introduced. Amorphous-silicon-based microbolometer-type vacuum sensors fabricated on an 8-inch wafer are bonded with a cap wafer by using an Au–Sn eutectic solder. Membrane deflection and integrated vacuum sensor techniques are independently used to characterize the hermeticity at the wafer level. For a packaged wafer with a membrane thickness below 100 μm, it is possible to determine the hermeticity via a screening test performed using an optical detector. An integrated vacuum sensor having the same structure as a bolometer pixel shows a vacuum level below 100 mTorr. All steps from the packaging process to the fine hermeticity test are implemented at the wafer level to verify that high-volume and low-cost production of the microbolometer is possible.     

压阻式微型压力传感器微型 化限制因素的研究

本文初步探讨了对压阻式传感器的微型化起限制作用的多种因素:根据(100)晶面硅片各向异性腐蚀的特点,得出了器件芯片最小尺寸与硅片厚度的关系;根据方膜和矩形膜上应力分布曲线,得出了在一定的图形位置偏差下压力灵敏度与硅膜几何尺寸的关系曲线;讨论了硅片厚度均匀性与力敏电阻尺寸对器件总尺寸的限制作用,比较了全桥结构和横向压阻X型结构对器件几何尺寸的要求。最后介绍了两种实用的微型压力传感器设计与其主要技术参数。     

Integrated micro-heat-pipe fabrication technology

This paper presents the design and fabrication of an integrated micro-heat-pipe system consisting of a heater, an array of heat pipes, temperature and capacitive sensors. Taking advantage of the large difference between the dielectric constants of liquid and vapor, the integrated capacitor can be used for void-fraction measurements in two-phase flows. Both CMOS-compatible and glass-based fabrication technologies are reported. In the CMOS-compatible technology, the heat pipes are capped by a thin nitride layer utilizing wafer bonding and etch back technique. In the glass-based technology, the heat pipes are covered by a glass substrate using die-by-die anodic bonding to allow visualization of the two-phase flow patterns. This approach also results in a significant reduction of the parasitic capacitance, thus enhancing the sensitivity of the capacitance sensor. A few particular problems related to this technology are discussed and proper solutions are proposed.     

Flexible integration of MEMS and IC for low-cost production of wireless sensor nodes

In this paper, we proposed a flexible process for size-free MEMS and IC integration with high efficiency for MEMS ubiquitous applications in wireless sensor network. In this approach, MEMS and IC can be fabricated individually by different wafers. MEMS and IC known-good-dies (KGD) are temporarily bonded onto carrier wafer with rapid and high-accurate self-alignment by using fine pattern of hydrophobic surface assembled monolayer and capillary force of H₂O; and then KGD are de-bonded from carrier wafer and transferred to target wafer by wafer level permanent bonding with plasma surface activation to reduce bonding temperature and load force. By applying above 2-step process, size of both wafer and chip could be flexible selected. Besides, CMOS processed wafer or silicon interposer can be used as the target wafer. This approach offers us excellent process flexibilities for low-cost production of wireless sensor nodes.     

Design and fabrication of a hybrid silicon three-axial force sensor for biomechanical applications

This paper presents the design and development of a silicon-based three-axial force sensor to be used in a flexible smart interface for biomechanical measurements. Normal and shear forces are detected by combining responses from four piezoresistors obtained by ion implantation in a high aspect-ratio cross-shape flexible element equipped with a 525 μm high silicon mesa. The mesa is obtained by a subtractive dry etching process of the whole handle layer of an SOI wafer. Piezoresistor size ranges between 6 and 10 μm in width, and between 30 and 50 μm in length. The sensor configuration follows a hybrid integration approach for interconnection and for future electronic circuitry system integration. The sensor ability to measure both normal and shear forces with high linearity (99%) and low hysteresis is demonstrated by means of tests performed by applying forces from 0 to 2 N. In this paper the packaging design is also presented and materials for flexible sensor array preliminary assembly are described.     

A low-cost through via interconnection for ISM WLP

Wafer level packaging (WLP) for image sensor device has the advantage of small size, high performance and low cost. In WLP technology, in order to form electrical interconnection from image sensor contact pad to the backside of the wafer, several structures have been developed, such as T-contact and through silicon via (TSV). In this paper, a wafer level package of image sensor with new type TSV electrical interconnection for image sensor pad is presented. The target of this development is to reduce process cost and difficulty, and increase yield of image sensor packaging. Key fabrication processes includes glass protecting wafer bonding, device wafer thinning, backside through via etching, via passivation layer deposition, pad oxide opening, via filling and backside re-routing layer formation, etc. Compared to large opening area of tapered via on the backside of CMOS image sensor wafer, only small opening area is need for making via interconnection with vertical sidewall presented in this paper. A fillet structure at bottom corner of via holes can help to reduce sequent process difficulty, so that low-cost and simplified unit processes are successfully adopted in the fabrication process for through via formation. The through via interconnection shows good electrical connection performance, and high-quality photo images are obtained by packaged image sensor device.     

Experimental evaluation of MEMS strain sensors embedded incomposites

Micromechanical in-plane strain sensors were fabricated and embedded in fiber-reinforced laminated composite plates. Three different strain sensor designs were evaluated: a piezoresistive filament fabricated directly on the wafer; a rectangular cantilever beam; and a curved cantilever beam. The cantilever beam designs were off surface structures, attached to the wafer at the root of the beam. The composite plate with embedded sensor was loaded in uniaxial tension and bending. Sensor designs were compared for repeatability, sensitivity and reliability. The effects of wafer geometry and composite plate stiffness were also studied. Typical sensor sensitivity to a uniaxial tensile strain of 0.001 (1000 με) ranged from 1.2 to 1.5% of the nominal resistance (dR/R). All sensors responded repeatably to uniaxial tension loading. However, for compressive bending loads imposed on a 2-3-mm-thick composite plate, sensor response varied significantly for all sensor designs. This additional sensitivity can be attributed to local buckling and subsequent out of plane motion in compressive loading. The curved cantilever design, constructed with a hoop geometry, showed the least variation in response to compressive bending loads. All devices survived and yielded repeatable responses to uniaxial tension loads applied over 10 000 cycles     

Design and characterization of an integrated multifunction micro sensor

This paper describes the design and characterization of an integrated sensor fabricated on the silicon on insulator wafer by micro electro mechanical systems technology. The integrated sensor is comprised of a tri-axis accelerometer, an absolute pressure sensor and a spreading-resistance temperature (SRT) sensor. The optimal size of the sensor structure, natural frequency and cross interference of these three sensors were simulated and determined by finite element analysis. The accelerometer with the cross structure has high sensitivity, good linearity and high response frequency proved by the static and dynamic experiments. The zero-drift, thermal zero-drift and thermal sensitivity of the accelerometer and absolute pressure sensor were also tested. The arrangement of SRT sensor with the wave structure was designed in detail. The optimal location of the SRT sensor was at the edge of chip to avoid stress interference. The integrated sensor with low cost, low mutual interference, smaller volume and good performance can be applied in mobile device, small military plane without driver and some other situations for environmental monitoring.     

Diagnostic techniques for the dynamics of a thin liquid film under forced flow and evaporating conditions

Motivated by quantification of micro-hydrodynamics of a thin liquid film which is present in industrial processes, such as spray cooling, heating (e.g., boiling with the macrolayer and the microlayer), coating, cleaning, and lubrication, we use micro-conductive probes and confocal optical sensors to measure the thickness and dynamic characteristics of a liquid film on a silicon wafer surface with or without heating. The simultaneous measurement on the same liquid film shows that the two techniques are in a good agreement with respect to accuracy, but the optical sensors have a much higher acquisition rate up to 30 kHz which is more suitable for rapid process. The optical sensors are therefore used to measure the instantaneous film thickness in an isothermal flow over a silicon wafer, obtaining the film thickness profile and the interfacial wave. The dynamic thickness of an evaporating film on a horizontal silicon wafer surface is also recorded by the optical sensor for the first time. The results indicate that the critical thickness initiating film instability on the silicon wafer is around 84 μm at heat flux of ~56 kW/m². In general, the tests performed show that the confocal optical sensor is capable of measuring liquid film dynamics at various conditions, while the micro-conductive probe can be used to calibrate the optical sensor by simultaneous measurement of a film under quasi-steady state. The micro-experimental methods provide the solid platform for further investigation of the liquid film dynamics affected by physicochemical properties of the liquid and surfaces as well as thermal-hydraulic conditions.     

Improved design of a silicon micromachined gyroscope withpiezoresistive detection and electromagnetic excitation

In this paper, an improved design of a silicon micromachined gyroscope (angular rate sensor) is presented. It is based on the tuning fork principle and realized by combining two proof masses. The gyroscope is driven by electromagnetic forces and detects the Coriolis force by means of four piezoresistors connected in a Wheatstone bridge. The main fabrication steps including advanced deep reactive ion etching (ADRIE) and a wafer scale packaging are reported. The major novelty consists in a new design to reduce output drift. Both a higher symmetric mechanical structure and a separation of the first and the second mechanical resonant frequencies have been successfully investigated. This allows both driving and sensing of the device at its first resonant frequency while not exciting the second one. Thus, better uncoupling between the sensor modes has been obtained. As main results, a bandwidth of 10 Hz has been achieved and long-term measurements have been performed which were not possible with the previous design due to the low stability of the zero rate signal. For the current design, the dynamic behavior, the temperature dependence, rotation measurement, and the sensor stability have been characterized     

Silicon-based miniature sensor for electrical tomography

The paper describes the fabrication of a novel miniature sensor for electrical tomography. The sensor comprises a number of copper electrodes that are fabricated around a small hole that is etched through a silicon wafer. Copper electrodes are electroplated to fill channels that are formed in thick photo-resist on top of the silicon wafer. Electrodes with a thickness of 60 μm, surrounding a hole of diameter 300 μm, have been realised. Initial measurements have been made using a commercial LCR meter applied to an eight-electrode sensor and images of a 80 μm diameter wire have been obtained. Future work will consider the integration of measurement circuitry alongside the electrodes in order to reduce parasitic capacitances.     

Silicon micro-cantilever chemical sensors fabricated in double-layer silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer

Micro-cantilever piezoresistive sensors are optimally designed and fabricated in a double-layer silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The sensor geometry is optimized by placing the sensing piezoresistor at the cantilever root region to increase effective piezoreisistive sensing area. According to finite-element simulation results, high sensitivity can be obtained by design the cantilever into a wide and short shape. In order to use single-crystalling silicon to fabricate both the cantilever and the piezoresistor for high sensitivity, double-layer SOI wafer, which has two active layers and two insulating layers, is proposed to fabricate the self-sensing micro-cantilever sensor. The piezoresistor is made of the top active-layer single-crystalline silicon. Without p–n junction isolation, such a piezoresistor can be free from leakage-current relative noise that helps to achieve fine sensing resolution. The bottom active-layer is used to form the cantilever, with well controlled cantilever thickness and high fabrication yield. With the top surface of the micro-cantilever is modified with the functionalized self-assembled monolayer, detection of trace-concentration Trinitrotoluene (TNT) vapor is experimentally carried out, with reproducible sensing response to 7.6 ppb TNT.     

A wireless and passive wafer cleanliness monitoring unit via electromagnetic coupling for semicondutcor/MEMS manufacturing facilities

This paper presents a wireless and passive chemical sensing system, in situ real time, via electromagnetic (EM) coupling, capable of monitoring wafer cleanliness during rinsing process at semiconductor/MEMS manufacturing facilities. A MEMS chemical sensor is embedded in a wafer-form transponder to evaluate the rinsing process in situ by measuring the conductivity of rinsing water inside micro-features formed by two interdigitated electrodes. All necessary power for the transponder is supplied from an external interrogator via the on-wafer transponder antenna. The modulated conductivity data is then emitted back from the transponder to the external interrogator in wireless and battery-free manner. The wireless system has been implemented on a 4-inch glass wafer to maintain the wafer form factor, not disturbing hydrodynamics of the rinsing process. The working distance of the system was measured to be about 25 cm, primarily limited by the coupled power to the transponder. Real time and in situ characterization of system was performed with three different control solutions: hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Detection uncertainty of the system was observed to be less than 2% (2 ppb for a 100 ppb solution).     

High-Precision Alignment and Bonding System for the Fabrication of 3-D Nanostructures

We successfully developed a high-precision wafer alignment and bonding system for the fabrication of a variety of 3-D nanostructures. To control the wafer positions with high accuracy during the wafer-bonding process, we improved upon a design of the conventional mask-alignment stage. A stress sensor was incorporated to measure the load between the two wafers. In addition, the parallelism of the wafers was monitored by an optical interferometry system. To determine alignment errors in both the and directions simultaneously, we devised an alignment method consisting of crossed vernier scales. We demonstrated that the new alignment and bonding system allowed us to realize precise 3-D photonic crystals with the alignment inaccuracy of < 100 nm at most, and we show that the best experimental error achieved to date was < 25 nm. As this system has the benefit of more readily and intuitively determining the absolute positions of the two wafers, it can be applied to the fabrication of a wide variety of nanoscale multilayer devices.     

基于光学微腔的MOEMS微位移传感器

该MOEMS微位移传感器是一种基于光波导环形谐振腔的悬臂梁式传感器,通过一系列的微加工技术集成制造在SOI材料上.光学微腔是一种新型的光学谐振腔,当其在回音廊模式下(WGM)共振时可以检测到规则的透射谱图,该传感器通过测量透射谱的偏移来确定位移量.利用有限元分析法可以得到悬臂粱结构的最佳尺寸参数,利用时域有限差分方法(FDTD)可以得到环形腔投射谱的偏移特性.当使用跑道型谐振腔时,该新型传感器最高可以探测到10nm左右的位移量.     

Towards a versatile DRIE: silicon pit structures combined with electrochemical etch stop

A novel approach for fabricating low-pitch arrays of silicon membranes on standard CMOS wafers by combining deep-reactive ion etching (DRIE) and electrochemical etching (ECE) techniques is presented. These techniques have been used to fabricate membrane-based sensors and sensor arrays featuring different membrane sizes on a single wafer with a well defined etch stop. The described procedure is particularly useful in cases when the usage of SOI wafers is not an option. The combination of a grid-like mask pattern featuring uniform-size etch openings for the DRIE process with a reliable ECE technique allowed to fabricate silicon membranes with sizes ranging from 0.01 mm/sup 2/ to 2.2 mm/sup 2/. The development of this new method has been motivated by the need to design a compact n-well-based calorimetric sensor array, where the use of a standard ECE technique would have significantly increased the overall size of the device.     

Sacrificial wafer bonding for planarization after very deep etching

A new technique is presented that provides planarization after a very deep etching step in silicon. This offers the possibility for resist spinning and layer patterning as well as realization of bridges or cantilevers across deep holes or grooves. The sacrificial wafer bonding technique contains a wafer bond step followed by an etch back. Results of polymer bonding followed by dry etching and anodic bonding combined with KOH etching are discussed. The polymer bonding has been applied in a strain based membrane pressure sensor to pattern the strain gauges and to provide electrical connections across a deep corrugation in a thin silicon nitride membrane by metal bridges     

无线传感器网络寿命的一种新定义方法

无线传感器网络是一种能量受限型网络,降低能量消耗、延长网络寿命是无线传感器网络设计的主要目标之一,网络寿命也是评价设计方案性能的重要指标。寿命定义方式对传感器网的设计,尤其是通信协议、任务调度机制的设计具有非常重要的影响。采用的寿命定义不同,网络的设计目标就不相同,针对同一个设计方案的分析结论也可能差别巨大。该文在总结分析传感器网寿命现有定义的基础上,从衡量传感器网络为用户提供服务能力的角度出发,提出了一种基于网络有效覆盖率的寿命定义方法,并对网络寿命的测定流程和仿真过程中的两个关键问题提出了解决方案。     

Surface-micromachined capacitive differential pressure sensor withlithographically defined silicon diaphragm

A capacitive surface-micromachined sensor suitable for the measurement of liquid and gas pressures was fabricated. The structure consists of a polysilicon stationary electrode suspended 0.7 μm above a 20-μm-thick lightly doped silicon diaphragm formed by a patterned etch stop. The a priori patterning of the buried etch stop yields diaphragm widths independent of wafer thickness variations with excellent alignment. The design described here has a pressure range of 100 PSI, a nominal capacitance of 3.5 pF with a full scale span of 0.8 pF, and a temperature coefficient of 100 ppm°C^-1. Each device, including a matched reference capacitor, occupies 2.9 mm² , yielding approximately 2000 devices per 100-mm wafer