Process and structure for high temperature selective fusion bonding
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of selectively preparing a silicon surface for selective fusion bonding, comprising:
- a) aligning a silicon surface and a shadow mask so as to create a masked area and an unmasked area of the silicon surface;
b) treating the unmasked area of the silicon surface to prevent fusion bonding, including depositing a layer of silicon nitride on the unmasked area of the silicon surface, wherein the silicon nitride is initially applied at a first deposition rate, and subsequently applied at a second deposition rate greater than the first deposition rate; and
c) removing the shadow mask from the silicon surface after the treatment in step b).
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method to prevent movable structures within a MEMS device, and more specifically, in recesses having one or more dimension in the micrometer range or smaller (i.e., smaller than about 10 microns) from being inadvertently bonded to non-moving structures during a bonding process. The method includes surface preparation of silicon both structurally and chemically to aid in preventing moving structures from bonding to adjacent surfaces during bonding, including during high force, high temperature fusion bonding.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A method of selectively preparing a silicon surface for selective fusion bonding, comprising:
-
a) aligning a silicon surface and a shadow mask so as to create a masked area and an unmasked area of the silicon surface; b) treating the unmasked area of the silicon surface to prevent fusion bonding, including depositing a layer of silicon nitride on the unmasked area of the silicon surface, wherein the silicon nitride is initially applied at a first deposition rate, and subsequently applied at a second deposition rate greater than the first deposition rate; and c) removing the shadow mask from the silicon surface after the treatment in step b). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method of selectively preparing a surface for selective fusion bonding, comprising:
-
a) aligning a silicon surface defining a recess and a shadow mask so as to create a masked area and an unmasked area of the silicon surface; b) treating the unmasked area of the silicon surface to prevent fusion bonding, including non-uniformly depositing a layer of silicon nitride on the unmasked area of the silicon surface such that the general thickness of the silicon nitride layer varies from location to location within the area the silicon nitride is deposited and wherein the silicon nitride is deposited to form the silicon nitride layer in the recess such that the silicon nitride layer is generally thicker in a central portion of the recess, and thinner elsewhere; and c) removing the shadow mask from the silicon surface after the treatment in step b).
-
Specification