TABLE OF CONTENTS It has been shown in this chapter that the microfabrication technologies born out of the microelectronics industry have provided a means of producing mechanical structures with dimensions and tolerances that are far smaller than those offered by traditional machining techniques. This has consequently permitted the development of a, range of MEMS devices that are now widely employed in everyday life. However, as MEMS manufacturing has matured, a broad spectrum of materials that lie within the CMOS materials set have been incorporated into devices. This has required the development of a variety of tools for producing these materials on substrates and subsequently patterning them into the three dimensional structures desired. This chapter has reviewed both the principle technologies for the growth of these materials and the methodology for selecting the appropriate material for a given application before discussing micromachining techniques for producing structures and the integration of these principles into a process flow.
The cost of microfabrication is high, and therefore it is essential that the development of the microfabrication process associated with producing a new MEMS device is as straightforward as possible. This is possible through careful design and consideration of the issues discussed in this Chapter.
Fortunately, there is a wealth of public-domain information and computer aided design software to assist the Process Engineer further in this task, and time well spent in the design phase of a new project will greatly enhance the chances of final success!
