MEMS Design – Homework 1

1. The figures below represent the layout for silicon structures to be made out
using wet anisotropic etching. The wafer types and orientations are indicated.
Assuming ideal wet anisotropic etchant, draw the top views and cross sections
after a very long time. Indicate relevant dimensions and angles.

2. A Hollow disk resonator is used to measure concentrations of various analytes in liquid by

measuring the shift in resonance frequency as the analyte is adsorbed on to a coated
resonator. The channels containing the liquid are buried inside the resonator as shown in
the figures below.

a) Design a process flow for fabricating the device. What do you expect will be the
main fabrication challenges?
b) If the structure were to be fabricated with Polysilicon instead of Single Crystal
Silicon how would you fabricate it ?

3. A through hole is to be etched through a Single side polished Silicon wafer
(400um thick, 5%tolerance), using wet anisotropic etching. The nominal value
of the hole opening is 25 microns.
a) Assuming zero etch rate along <111> direction, what is the size of the
mask opening that you would use. How much variation do you expect in
hole size?
b) Assuming you are using an oxide as masking layer, and given that the
KOH etch rate for Silicon is 1 um/min and oxide is 3 nm/min how thick of
an oxide layer would you need ? Does your answer change if two wafers
are bonded back to back during etching ?

4. The minimum breakdown voltage for air is about 330V for a (P.d)min = 7 Bar-um.
(Approximate my 20 times mean free path for electrons in air).

a. What is the maximum energy density for actuator operating at a) atmospheric

pressure b) 1 mTorr

b. For a 2.4 um gap Eb is found to be 2x108 V/m. What is the maximum energy
density at atmospheric pressure ? How do you expect the breakdown voltage
to change with decreasing pressure to 1 mTorr ?

c. The field emission breakdown field is calculated to be 2x109 V/m,

irrespective of pressure Assuming E varies according to square root of gap in
the left hand side of the paschen curve what is the minimum gap at which
these devices can be operated at a) 1 atm. b) 1 MTorr. What is the energy
density ?