Methods for depositing, releasing and packaging micro-electromechanical devices on wafer substrates
First Claim
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1. A method for forming a MEMS device, comprising:
- providing a first wafer;
providing a second wafer;
providing a sacrificial layer on or in the first or second wafer;
forming a plurality of MEMS elements on the sacrificial layer;
releasing the plurality of MEMS devices by etching away the sacrificial layer;
mixing one or more spacer elements into an adhesive or providing one or more spacer elements separately from the adhesive for separating the wafers during and after bonding;
applying the adhesive to one or both of the first and second wafers;
bonding the first and second wafers together into a wafer assembly with the spacer elements therebetween so that the first and second wafers are held together in a spaced apart relationship as a wafer assembly;
singulating the wafer assembly into individual dies; and
applying a getter to one or both wafers before bonding the two wafers together into the wafer assembly.
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Abstract
A method for forming a MEMS device is disclosed, where a final release step is performed just prior to a wafer bonding step to protect the MEMS device from contamination, physical contact, or other deleterious external events. Without additional changes to the MEMS structure between release and wafer bonding and singulation, except for an optional stiction treatment, the MEMS device is best protected and overall process flow is improved. The method is applicable to the production of any MEMS device and is particularly beneficial in the making of fragile micromirrors.
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Citations
134 Claims
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1. A method for forming a MEMS device, comprising:
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providing a first wafer;
providing a second wafer;
providing a sacrificial layer on or in the first or second wafer;
forming a plurality of MEMS elements on the sacrificial layer;
releasing the plurality of MEMS devices by etching away the sacrificial layer;
mixing one or more spacer elements into an adhesive or providing one or more spacer elements separately from the adhesive for separating the wafers during and after bonding;
applying the adhesive to one or both of the first and second wafers;
bonding the first and second wafers together into a wafer assembly with the spacer elements therebetween so that the first and second wafers are held together in a spaced apart relationship as a wafer assembly;
singulating the wafer assembly into individual dies; and
applying a getter to one or both wafers before bonding the two wafers together into the wafer assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method for making a MEMS device, comprising:
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providing a first wafer;
providing a second wafer;
forming circuitry and a plurality of electrodes on or in the first wafer;
forming a plurality of deflectable elements on or in either the first or second wafer;
applying an adhesion reducing agent and/or a getter to one or both of the wafers;
aligning the first and second wafers;
bonding the first and second wafers together to form a wafer assembly; and
separating the wafer assembly into individual wafer assembly dies;
wherein a getter is applied to one or both wafers before bonding the two wafers together. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A method for forming a MEMS device, comprising:
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providing a first wafer;
providing a second wafer;
providing a sacrificial layer on or in the first or second wafer;
forming a plurality of MEMS elements on the sacrificial layer;
releasing the plurality of MEMS devices by etching away the sacrificial layer;
mixing one or more spacer elements into an adhesive or providing one or more spacer elements separately from the adhesive for separating the wafers during and after bonding;
applying the adhesive to one or both of the first and second wafers;
bonding the first and second wafers together with the spacer elements therebetween so that the first and second wafers are held together in a spaced apart relationship as a wafer assembly;
singulating the wafer assembly into individual dies; and
applying an adhesion reducing agent to one or both wafers before or after bonding the two wafers together, but before singulating the wafer assembly into dies. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115)
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116. A method for forming a MEMS device, comprising:
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providing a first wafer;
providing a second wafer;
providing a sacrificial layer on or in the first or second wafer;
forming a plurality of MEMS elements on the sacrificial layer;
releasing the plurality of MEMS devices by etching away the sacrificial layer;
mixing one or more spacer elements into an adhesive or providing one or more spacer elements separately from the adhesive for separating the wafers during and after bonding;
applying the adhesive to one or both of the first and second wafers;
bonding the first and second wafers together with the spacer elements therebetween so that the first and second wafers are held together in a spaced apart relationship as a wafer assembly;
singulating the wafer assembly into individual dies; and
forming a plurality of light blocking masks on the second wafer.
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117. A method of making a MEMS device, comprising:
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providing a first wafer;
providing a second wafer;
forming circuitry and a plurality of electrodes on or in the first wafer;
forming a plurality of deflectable elements on or in either the first or second wafer;
applying an adhesion reducing agent and/or a getter to one or both of the wafers;
aligning the first and second wafers;
bonding the first and second wafers together to form an assembly;
separating the wafer assembly into individual assembly dies; and
applying an adhesion reducing agent to one or both wafers before or after bonding the two wafers together, but before singulating the wafer assembly into dies;
wherein the adhesion reducing agent is a silane applied in a vapor phase to the deflectable elements.
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118. A method for making a MEMS device, comprising:
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providing a first wafer;
providing a second wafer;
forming circuitry and a plurality of electrodes on or in the first wafer;
forming a plurality of deflectable elements on or in either the first or second wafer;
applying an adhesion reducing agent and/or a getter to one or both of the wafers;
aligning the first and second wafers;
bonding the first and second wafers together to form a wafer assembly; and
separating the wafer assembly into individual wafer assembly dies;
wherein one of the wafers is a glass or quartz wafer having one or more rectangular masks thereon. - View Dependent Claims (119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134)
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Specification