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The Design And Fabrication Of An Electrostatically Actuated Diaphragm With A Silicon-On-Insulator Wafer, Elizabeth L. Brooks
The Design And Fabrication Of An Electrostatically Actuated Diaphragm With A Silicon-On-Insulator Wafer, Elizabeth L. Brooks
Master's Theses
Electrostatically actuated silicon membranes were designed, modeled, fabricated, and characterized. The intended application was for use in a microspeaker. Fabrication issues necessitated the use of thick diaphragms with a large gap between the electrodes. The devices did not function as speakers but did show actuation with a high DC voltage. Device dimensions were chosen by examining membrane mechanics, testing the processing steps required for device fabrication, and modeling with COMSOL. Several adhesives were researched to fabricate the device sidewalls, including BCB, PMMA, and TRA-Bond F112. A method for patterning PMMA through photolithography was found using a scanning electron microscope. Masks …
The Design And Fabrication Of A Silicon Membrane For Electrostatic Actuation, Elizabeth L. Brooks
The Design And Fabrication Of A Silicon Membrane For Electrostatic Actuation, Elizabeth L. Brooks
Materials Engineering
An electrostatically actuated silicon membrane was designed and fabricated utilizing a siliconon- insulator wafer. The SOI wafer contains three layers- a 400μm thick “handle” layer of silicon followed by a 2μm thick oxide layer topped with a 20μm thick “device” layer of silicon. The embedded oxide layer acts as an etch-stop during silicon etching, leaving a thin membrane of consistent thickness on the device side. The device dimensions were chosen to provide acceptable membrane deflection predicted by calculations and Finite Element Analysis. A microfabrication process plan was designed to produce thin membranes appropriate for electrostatic actuation. A 700nm layer of …
Design, Fabrication, Modeling And Characterization Of Electrostatically-Actuated Silicon Membranes, Brian C. Stahl
Design, Fabrication, Modeling And Characterization Of Electrostatically-Actuated Silicon Membranes, Brian C. Stahl
Master's Theses
This thesis covers the design, fabrication, modeling and characterization of electrostatically actuated silicon membranes, with applications to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). A microfabrication process was designed to realize thin membranes etched into a silicon wafer using a wet anisotropic etching process. These flexible membranes were bonded to a rigid counterelectrode using a photo-patterned gap layer. The membranes were actuated electrostatically by applying a voltage bias across the electrode gap formed by the membrane and the counterelectrode, causing the membrane to deflect towards the counterelectrode. This deflection was characterized for a range of actuating voltages and these results were compared to the …