Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS, also written as micro-electromechanical, MicroElectroMechanical or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems and

the related micromechatronics) is the technology of microscopic devices, particularly those with
moving parts. It merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS)
and nanotechnology. MEMS are also referred to as micromachines in Japan, or micro systems
technology (MST) in Europe.
MEMS are separate and distinct from the hypothetical vision of molecular
nanotechnology or molecular electronics. MEMS are made up of components between 1 and 100
micrometres in size (i.e. 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices generally range in size from 20
micrometres to a millimetre (i.e. 0.02 to 1.0 mm). They usually consist of a central unit that
processes data (the microprocessor) and several components that interact with the surroundings
such as microsensors.[1] At these size scales, the standard constructs of classical physics are not
always sufficient. Because of the large surface area to volume ratio of MEMS, surface effects such
as electrostatics and wetting dominate over volume effects such as inertia or thermal mass.[citation needed]
The potential of very small machines was appreciated before the technology existed that could make
them (see, for example, Richard Feynman's famous 1959 lecture There's Plenty of Room at the
Bottom). MEMS became practical once they could be fabricated using modified semiconductor
device fabrication technologies, normally used to make electronics.[2] These include molding and
plating, wet etching (KOH, TMAH) and dry etching (RIE and DRIE), electro discharge
machining (EDM), and other technologies capable of manufacturing small devices. An early example
of a MEMS device is the resonistor an electromechanical monolithic resonator.[3][4]
Contents
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1Materials for MEMS manufacturing

1.1Silicon

1.2Polymers

1.3Metals

1.4Ceramics

2MEMS basic processes

2.1.1Physical deposition

2.1.2Chemical deposition
2.2Patterning

2.2.1Lithography

2.2.2Electron beam lithography

2.2.3Ion beam lithography

2.2.4Ion track technology

2.2.5X-ray lithography

2.2.6Diamond patterning
2.3Etching processes

2.3.1Wet etching

2.3.1.1Isotropic etching

2.3.1.2Anisotropic etching

2.3.1.3HF etching

2.3.1.4Electrochemical etching
2.3.2Dry etching

2.3.2.1Vapor etching

2.3.2.1.1Xenon difluoride

2.3.2.2Plasma etching

2.3.2.2.1Sputtering

2.3.2.2.2Reactive ion etching (RIE)

2.4Die preparation
3MEMS manufacturing technologies

3.1Bulk micromachining

3.2Surface micromachining

3.3High aspect ratio (HAR) silicon micromachining

4Applications

5Industry structure

6See also

7References

8External links

Materials for MEMS manufacturing[edit]

Silicon[edit]
Silicon is the material used to create most integrated circuits used in consumer electronics in the
modern industry. The economies of scale, ready availability of inexpensive high-quality materials,
and ability to incorporate electronic functionality make silicon attractive for a wide variety of MEMS
applications. Silicon also has significant advantages engendered through its material properties. In
single crystal form, silicon is an almost perfect Hookean material, meaning that when it is flexed
there is virtually no hysteresis and hence almost no energy dissipation. As well as making for highly
repeatable motion, this also makes silicon very reliable as it suffers very little fatigue and can have
service lifetimes in the range of billions to trillions of cycles without breaking.

Polymers[edit]
Even though the electronics industry provides an economy of scale for the silicon industry, crystalline
silicon is still a complex and relatively expensive material to produce. Polymers on the other hand
can be produced in huge volumes, with a great variety of material characteristics. MEMS devices
can be made from polymers by processes such as injection
molding, embossing or stereolithography and are especially well suited to microfluidic applications
such as disposable blood testing cartridges.

Metals[edit]
Metals can also be used to create MEMS elements. While metals do not have some of the
advantages displayed by silicon in terms of mechanical properties, when used within their limitations,
metals can exhibit very high degrees of reliability. Metals can be deposited by electroplating,
evaporation, and sputtering processes. Commonly used metals
include gold, nickel, aluminium, copper, chromium, titanium, tungsten, platinum, and silver.

Ceramics[edit]
The nitrides of silicon, aluminium and titanium as well as silicon carbide and other ceramics are
increasingly applied in MEMS fabrication due to advantageous combinations of material
properties. AlN crystallizes in the wurtzite structure and thus
shows pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties enabling sensors, for instance, with sensitivity to
normal and shear forces.[6] TiN, on the other hand, exhibits a high electrical conductivity and
large elastic modulus allowing to realize electrostatic MEMS actuation schemes with ultrathin
membranes.[7] Moreover, the high resistance of TiN against biocorrosion qualifies the material for
applications in biogenic environments and in biosensors.

MEMS basic processes[edit]

One of the basic building blocks in MEMS processing is the ability to deposit thin films of material
with a thickness anywhere between a few nanometres to about 100 micrometres. There are two
types of deposition processes, as follows.
Physical deposition[edit]
Physical vapor deposition ("PVD") consists of a process in which a material is removed from a
target, and deposited on a surface. Techniques to do this include the process of sputtering, in which
an ion beam liberates atoms from a target, allowing them to move through the intervening space and
deposit on the desired substrate, and evaporation, in which a material is evaporated from a target
using either heat (thermal evaporation) or an electron beam (e-beam evaporation) in a vacuum
system.
Chemical deposition[edit]