Smart Sensors
7th SEM
Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering
Open elective
Unit I
overview of smart
sensing and control
systems
Generic control system.
As shown in Figure 1, a signal conditioning interface typically exists between the
sensor(s) and the controller and between the controller and the output device. Smart
sensing includes a portion of the controllers functions in the sensor portion of the
system. That means software will play an increasingly important role in smart
sensors.
SMART SENSOR MODEL
As shown in above Figure, in addition to the sensing element and its associated
amplification and signal conditioning, an A/D converter, memory of some type, and
logic (control) capability are included in the smart sensor.
Reducing the number of discrete
elements in a smart sensor (or any
system) is desirable to reduce the
number of components, form factor,
interconnections, assembly cost, and
frequently component cost as well.
For example, as shown in Figure, a
sensor manufacturer that already uses
semiconductor, that is, bipolar or metal
oxide semiconductor (MOS),
technology for the sensing element
may expand the capability and increase
the value (and intelligence) of the
sensing unit it produces by combining
the signal conditioning in the same
package or in a sensor module.
Integration of Micromachining
and Microelectronics
Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics.
Microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or micro-
fabrication) of very small electronic designs and components.
Micromachining is an advanced technology that enables micro
components with dimensions in the range of 1–500µm to be
fabricated using micro fabrication techniques.
The combination of microelectronics with micromechanical
structures promises to change future control systems and enable
entirely new applications that previously were too costly for
commercial purposes.
A major advantage of integrated sensing and signal conditioning is the
addition of calibration through on-chip techniques, such as laser trimming of
thin-film resistors on the sensor die, and the subsequent ability to obtain partfor-
part replaceability at the component level.
Today’s smart-power technologies integrate bipolar and CMOS circuitry with
multiple power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET)
output devices.
New packages must be developed for smart sensors to accommodate the
additional connections for power, ground, output, diagnostics, and other features
that the combination of technologies can provide.
Prior to the era of sensor integration, products that combine technology at the
package level, rather than at the silicon level, have been the industry norm. A
hybrid or module solution has the advantage of using proven available
technology to achieve a more sophisticated product solution.
Micromachining Techniques
IC manufacturing processes used to make the microstructures
include photolithography, thin-film deposition, and chemical and
plasma etching.
Bulk micromachining has been used to manufacture
semiconductor pressure sensors since the late 1970s.
Recently, newer techniques such as surface micromachining have
been developed that achieve even smaller structures.
What properties will make silicon ideal for mechanical structures?
o Modulus of elasticity (resulting in minimal
mechanical hysteresis)
o Yield strength
Bulk Micromachining
Bulk micromachining is a process for making three-dimensional microstructures
in which a masked silicon wafer is etched in an orientation-dependent etching
solution.
In bulk micromachining, an anisotropic (unidirectional) etchant, such as ethylene-
diamine-pyrocatechol (EDP), hydrazine (N2H4), tetramethylammonium hydroxide
(TMAH), or potassium hydroxide (KOH), attacks the <100> plane of silicon.
For simpler fabrication of microstructures and/or to create larger vertical space
around them etching into the substrate volume would be required.
Thin diaphragms, cavities, and cantilevers can be formed by this approach.
In general silicon etching can be isotropic or anisotropic.
Basic Wet Etch Process
• Diffusion of reactant to surface
• Surface Reaction (absorption, reaction, desorption)
• Diffusion of products from surface
Reactant Diffusion Product Diffusion
Surface Reaction
Two Major types of etching
• Wet Etching: Liquid acids/bases
• Dry Etching:
Plasma etching (PE) :- It involves a high-speed stream of glow discharge of
an appropriate gas mixture being shot at a sample.
The plasma source, known as etch species, can be
either charged or neutral.
Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)
Etch stop techniques enhance the accuracy of wet chemical etching. The most
common techniques for etch-depth control in bulk micromachining are shown in
Figure.
Boron etch stops using EDP or TMAH can be used to produce layers as thick as 15.50
mm, with oxide masking capable of protecting other areas of the chip for adding
circuitry.
Wafer Bonding
In addition to micromachining, different types of wafer bonding are needed to
produce more complex sensing structures. The attachment of silicon to a second
silicon wafer or silicon to glass is an important aspect of semiconductor sensors.
Four different approaches to wafer bonding are:-
Silicon-on-Silicon Bonding
Silicon-on-Glass (Anodic) Bonding
Silicon Fusion Bonding
Wafer Bonding for More Complex Structures and Adding ICs
Silicon-on-Silicon Bonding
A common approach for manufacturing semiconductor pressure sensors uses a
bulk micromachined diaphragm anisotropically etched into a silicon wafer.
Piezoresistive sensing elements diffused or ion implanted into the thin diaphragm
are either a four-element Wheatstone bridge or a single element positioned to
maximize the sensitivity to shear stress.
Two silicon wafers are often used to produce the piezoresistive silicon pressure
sensor.
Figure shows a two-layer silicon-on-silicon pressure sensor
The sensor shown in Figure below uses a glass frit or paste to attach the top wafer to
the bottom wafer. The paste is applied to the bottom (constraint) wafer, which is then
thermocompression-bonded to the top wafer containing the bulk micromachined
pressure sensing structure. The bottom wafer, containing the glass, provides stress
isolation and allows a reference vacuum to be sealed inside the combined structure.
Silicon-on-Glass (Anodic) Bonding
Electrostatic, or anodic, bonding is a process used to attach a silicon top wafer
to a glass substrate and also to attach silicon to silicon.
Anodic bonding attaches a silicon wafer, either with or without an oxidized
layer, to a borosilicate (PyrexÒ) glass heated to about 400°C when 500V or
more is applied across the structure.
Silicon Fusion Bonding
A technique that bonds wafers at the atomic level without polymer adhesives, a
glass layer, or an electric field is known as silicon fusion bonding (SFB) or direct
wafer bonding (DWB) [Figure 2.5(a)].
Before bonding, both wafers are treated in a solution, such as boiling nitric acid
or sulfuric peroxide. This step covers the surface of both wafers with a few
monolayers of reactive hydroxyl molecules.
Initial contact of the wafers holds them together through strong surface tension.
Subsequent processing at temperatures from 900 to 1,100°C drives off the
hydroxyl molecules.
The remaining oxygen reacts with the silicon to form silicon dioxide and fuses
the two surfaces.
Wafer Bonding for More Complex
Structures and Adding ICs
Wafer bonding is being investigated as a means to integrate other materials and to
combine micromachined structures with microelectronics.
Surface Micromachining
Surface micromachining builds microstructures by deposition and etching
structural layers over a substrate. This is different from Bulk micromachining, in
which a silicon substrate wafer is selectively etched to produce structures.
With surface micromachining, layers of structural material, typically polysilicon,
and a sacrificial material, such as silicon dioxide, are deposited and patterned.
The sacrificial material acts as an intermediate spacer layer and is etched away
to produce a freestanding structure.
Surface micromachining technology allows smaller and more complex structures
with multiple layers to be fabricated on a substrate.
Expensive silicon wafers can be replaced by cheaper substrates, such as glass or
plastic.
Because of the small spacing (»2
mm) possible with surface
micromachining, new issues
arise that affect both the sensor
design and the manufacturing
process.
Combinations of Surface and Bulk Micromachining
Other Micromachining Techniques
1. LIGA Process
One of the newer micromachining processes is the LIGA (derived from German
terms for lithography, electroforming, and molding) process, which combines X-
ray lithography, electroforming, and micromolding techniques.
The LIGA process allows high-aspect-ratio (height/width) structures to be
fabricated. X-ray.patterned photoresist molds are chemically etched in a metal
plate.
A polyimide layer a few microns thick acts as a sacrificial layer. A
complementary structure is built up by electrodepositing a metal layer, such as
nickel.
After the final etching process, portions of the microstructure remain attached to
the substrate and are able to move freely. Temperatures are under 200°C for the
entire process.
2. Dry-Etching Processes
Plasma etching and reactive ion etching can
produce structures that are not possible
from the wet chemical etching processes.
Plasma etching is an etching process that
uses an etching gas instead of a liquid to
chemically etch a structure.
Plasma-assisted dry etching is a critical
technology for manufacturing ultra-large-
scale integrated circuits.
Plasma-etching processes are divided into
four classes: sputtering, chemical etching,
energetic or damage-driven ion etching,
and sidewall inhibitor ion-assisted
anisotropic etching.
Manufacturing control of a plasma-etching
process addresses etch-rate control,
selectivity control, critical-dimension
control, profile control, and control of
surface quality and uniformity.
3. Micromilling
4. Lasers in Micromachining
lasers are used to perform critical trimming
and thin-film cutting in semiconductor and
sensor processing.
Lasers also provide noncontact residue-free
machining in semiconductor products,
including sensors.
Figure shows that either <110> or <100>
wafers can be processed using a combination
of photolithography, laser melting, and
anisotropic etching.
The grooved shape or microchannel obtained
by this process has been used to precisely
position fibers and spheric lenses in hybrid
micro optical devices without requiring
additional bonding or capturing techniques.
Other Micromachined Materials
Diamond as an Alternative Sensor Material.
Metal Oxides and Piezoelectric Sensing
Films on Microstructures
