Three-dimensional microfabrication for a multi-degree-of-freedom capacitive force sensor using fibre-chip coupling
- 10 October 2000
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
- Vol. 10 (4) , 492-497
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/10/4/302
Abstract
The design and fabrication of a novel multi-degree-of-freedom force sensor is described. The three-dimensional structure of the sensor is a result of combining several microfabrication techniques: wet bulk micromachining, fusion bonding, chemical mechanical polishing, deep RIE, LPCVD, PECVD and thermally evaporated thin films. The sensor is designed to operate in the 0-500 µN force range and the 0-10 µNm torque range. The flexibility of the process to create overhanging structures with arbitrary lengths and heights is illustrated by the integration of micro-tweezers directly onto the force sensor. Among other advantages of the developed process is a dicing-free self-release of wafer structures. This allows very fragile structures, such as micromirrors and other optical components, to be individually packaged.Keywords
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