ENEE 719F: Fabrication and Testing of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Course Goals:

Prerequisite: ENEE 605 or equivalent. The goals of this course are to go beyond the design stage in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) to provide students with a strong background in fabrication, testing and characterization of MEMS. The main focus is to understand the fundamental challenges and limitations involved in developing and testing MEMS devices and systems. Various MEMS devices will be developed based on preliminary designs from the earlier course, ENEE 605 Design and Fabrication of MEMS, using MEMS fabrication and instrumentation technologies. This is a “hands-on” course where students are likely to spend an average of ten hours per week in the cleanroom and testing labs. Students’ progress will be monitored through lab reports, monthly presentations and reports. The experimental testing and characterization results will be compared with the original models, giving a real world experience to the students.

Course Prerequisite(s):

ENEE 605 or equivalent

Topics Prerequisite(s):

It is required that students have a background in design and fabrication of MEMS devices. Some of this material will be reviewed as deemed necessary, through a combination of lectures, case studies, and individual homework assignments.

Textbook(s)

  • “Fundamentals of Microfabrication” by M.J. Madou, CRC Press, 1997
  • "Microsystems Design” by Stephen D. Senturia, (Textbook for ENEE 605)
  • Weekly journal and conference papers

Reference(s):

Books and Monograph
  • M. Gad-el-Hak, The MEMS Handbook, CRC Press, 2002.
  • N. Maluf, An Introduction to Microelectromechanical Systems Engineering, Artech House, 2000.
  • B. Bhushan, Handbook of Micro/Nano Tribology, CRC Press, 1999.
  • D. S. Ballantine, et. al., Acoustic Wave Sensors, Academic Press, 1997
  • Julian W. Gardner, Microsensors: Principles and Applications, Wiley, 1994.
  • L. Ristic, Editor, Sensor Technology and Devices, Artech House, 1994.
  • James M. Gere and Stephen P. Timoshenko, Mechanics of Materials, 2nd Edition, Brooks/Cole Engineering Division, 1984. IEEE Reprint Books:
  • W. Trimmer, Editor, Micromechanics and MEMS, IEEE Press, 1997.
  • R. S. Muller, et. al., Editors, Microsensors, IEEE Press, 1991. Journals:
  • J. Microelectromechanical Systems (IEEE/ASME).
  • J. Micromechanics and Microengineering (IEEE) (available on line).
  • Sensors and Actuators (Elsvier).
  • Sensors and Materials (MY, Japan - in English). Major Conference Proceedings:
  • Transducers ‘XX (International Conference on Solid-State Sensors and Actuators), odd numbered years since 1983, proceeding available from IEEE (US Meetings), Elsevier (European Meetings), IEE (Japanese Meetings).
  • MEMS ‘XX (IEEE Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), annual since 1989.
  • Solid-State Sensor, Actuator and Microsystems Workshop (North American MEMS Conference), even numbered years since 1986, proceedings available from Transducer Research Foundation.
  • Eurosensors ‘XX, annual since 1987, proceedings published in special issues of Sensors and Actuators. Web Sites:
  • ISI MEMS Archive: http://mems.isi.edu/mems - the primary web site in the field.
  • DARPA/ETO MEMS Program: http://eto.sysplan.com/ETO/MEMS/index.html - DoD view of MEMS, including descriptions of active projects.
  • SciCentral: http://www.scicentral.com/ - links to many information sources.

Core Topics:

Students in teams of four will be focusing on the development, testing and characterization of selected designs (a minimum of two and a maximum of four) chosen among the successful projects from the earlier course, ENEE 605. MEMS fabrication technologies will be used for development of these devices that include (but not limited to!) the following processes:
  • 3-D lithography techniques: shadow masking and gray-scale lithography
  • Thin film deposition
  • Spin-on processes: SU-8, Polyimides, PMMA, SOG and BCB
  • Wet additive methods: electro-plating, electroless-plating and electro-deposition
  • Wet and dry etching methods
  • Surface micromachining
  • Selective etching
  • Bulk micromachining and directional etching
  • Advanced surface micromachining: LIGA and DRIE
  • Process integration techniques: aligned wafer-level bonding (fusion, anodic and thermal compression) and chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)
  • Nanomachining: focused ion beam (FIB) and laser assisted etching.
Unit test devices will also be developed to investigate fundamental material properties such as mechanical (residual stress) electrical (dielectric breakdown), thermal (conduction) and fluidic (surface tension) behaviors for the given projects. Students will be using the state-of-the-art MEMS software (MEMCAD, FlumeCAD, L-edit, AutoCAD, Quarkxpress, and FemLab) for simulation, analysis and layout. The devices will be fabricated and tested in the MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab (MSAL), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Cleanroom, and the new Central Fabrication Facility in the Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics (IREAP) at the University of Maryland. It is expected that students will be able to fabricate, test and characterize their devices by the end of semester.

Possible list of design projects:

  1. Thermomechanical Optical Attenuator
  2. A Pressure Sensor Cluster
  3. Transdermal Microneedle Array
  4. Non-silicon Coulter Counter
  5. Optical Fiber Sensing Network
  6. Wafer-Bonded Gyroscope

Labs, locations and contact addresses for this course:

MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab (MSAL)
2201 J.M. Patterson Building
Person in charge: Professor Reza Ghodssi
E-mail: ghodssi@eng.umd.edu
URL:
Tel: 301-405-1897

ECE Cleanroom
3126 Engineering Building
Person in charge: Tom Loughran
E-mail: tcl@glue.umd.edu
Tel: 301-405-3642

Central Cleanroom Facility (CCF)
Institute of Research in Electronics and Applied Physics (IREAP)
Person in charge: Nolan Ballew
E-mail: nolanb@eng.umd.edu
Tel: 301-405-1024

Optional Topics:


Course Structure:

The plan is to have five individual homeworks, monthly presentations and reports, a final report and presentation in teams of four students. Successful teams will have the opportunity to submit their research results to MEMS conferences such as American Vacuum Society (AVS) International Symposium, ASME/IEEE MEMS Conference, Solid-State Sensor, Actuator and Microsystems Workshop and Transducers. There will not be a final exam for this course.

Grading Method:

Homework:20%
Monthly Presentations and Reports:40%
Final Presentation and Report:40%
| Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering | A. James Clark School of Engineering | University of Maryland |