MEMS and NEMS: releasing moving parts faster

Researchers at Leti have developed a simulator to validate the position and size of the holes used to remove, via etching, the sacrificial material used to temporarily support structures during the fabrication of MEMS and NEMS—and release the systems’ moving parts. The holes substantially shorten a critical phase in the process of releasing moving parts, thereby improving production yields.
Today’s manual techniques aren’t perfect—inaccurate placement of the holes sometimes means that the sacrificial layer of material cannot be totally removed.
The simulator, which is based on a computer-aided-design rule-verifying program, gives designers a preview of any residual sacrificial material that would need to be removed. This breakthrough marks a first step toward additional capabilities, like automatic hole positioning.

Contact: marjorie.gary@cea.fr

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