LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMER IN MEMS APPLICATIONS

B.ANUSHA (2011H140039H)

OUTLINE
y Overview of Liquid Crystal Polymer(LCP) y Microfabrication techniques y Applications

Packaging Substrate material Microfluid application Sensor applications PCB application y Conclusion

INTRODUCTION
y MEMS field evolved from the semiconductor industry y Initially,silicon had been the predominant material y Emergence of polymers in MEMS industry due to:

(i) Lower cost (ii) Flexible fabrication & packaging techniques (iii) Unique physical & chemical properties such as biocompatibilty & high mechanical fracture limit

LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYMER(LCP)

y Molecules mutually aligned & organised (as in a crystal) y Bulk of LCP can flow in molten state(as in a liquid) y Rigid flexible monomers that align in shear flow direction y Persistence of orientation even below melting point

temperature

LCP PROPERTIES
Barrier to gases like O2,N2,CO2 Good chemical resistance Flexible & capable of multilayer lamination Low coefficient of hygroscopic expansion Mechanical properties are anisotropic and dependent on polymer orientation Low temperature bonding Biocompatibility thermal

MICROFABRICATION TECHNIQUES
OXYGEN PLASMA REACTIVE ION ETCHING
Deposition & patterning of Al on LCP film Partial oxygen plasma etch of LCP Second patterning of Al etch mask Plasma etch through LCP leaving a flap

Removal of Al mask

Fabrication of a suspended flap supported by cantilevers

SEM micrograph showing a flat flap supported by two fixed-free beams in the LCP film.
(Etch rate of 25 m /min at 500 mTorr)

LAMINATION PROCESS USING SURFACE ACTIVATED BONDING Lamination of Cu foil & LCP film y Sputter cleaning of Cu & LCP surfaces with argon radio frequency plasma etching in vacuum y Removal of inactive layers of native oxide and contaminants achieved y Deposition of Cu on the LCP film followed by direct bonding at room temperature y Subsequent heating of Cu/LCP sample for better interface adhesion y Bonded interface 15 times smoother than that produced by heated lamination method

Mean peel strength dependence on the sequential heating in Ar, N2, Air, and O2.

Fine pattern fabricated by chemical etching on SAB processed LCP/Cu specimen

PACKAGING
y Packaging critical in bringing MEMS devices into

application y Passivation difficult due to the presence of moving parts & chemically sensitive sensors y Advantages of LCP packaging: (i)Negligible outgassing (ii)Low temperature processing that causes minimal damage to MEMS device

LCP PACKAGE FOR RF MEMS SWITCH

Cu sputtering on LCP Cavity formation by laser ablation to the Cu lid Lamination of LCP onto Si switch After lamination

Pattern Cu & form vias

Lamination process of LCP on Si

Insertion loss:0.5 dB Return loss :25 dB Isolation loss :14 dB

Diagram of a packaged RF MEMS switch in an LCP enclosure

Prototype of the packaged RF MEMS switch

LCP PACKAGED MEMS PRESSURE SENSOR FOR UNDERWATER APPLICATIONS

Diaphragm -based pressure sensor Packaging should prevent mass loading of the diaphragm LCP-based diaphragm exhibits enhanced sensitivity to pressure variations due to low elastic modulus

ADVANTAGES
y Flexible; applicable on curved surfaces y Exceptional hermetic properties y Allows array arrangement and high-sensitive 2D

pressure mapping y Good pressure resolution due to closely-spaced sensors y High durability and chemical resistance y Low cost production

LCP AS SUBSTRATE
RF MEMS SWITCH ON LCP SUBSTRATE
(i)Polyimide spun on LCP to minimize the roughness (ii)Fabrication of CPW signal lines (iii)Patterning of dielectric layer between membrane & signal line (i)Spin-coating & patterning of photoresist to create air gap (ii)Evaporation,patterning & electroplating of seed layer (i)Removal of sacrificial photoresist (ii)Releasing of switch by a drying process

Fabrication process flow of switch

PERFORMANCE OF SWITCH

y Insertion loss of about 1 dB y Isolation loss of about 20 dB y Return loss of about 20 dB y Enables integration of reconfigurable architecture on

LCP for 3D RF front ends y Flexible in nature

LCP IN MICROFLUID APPLICATIONS

MICROCHANNEL IN LCP FILM
Deposition and patterning of Al on LCP film

Defining fluid channels (trenches) by oxygen plasma etching

Removal of A1 mask and thermal bonding LCP to glass base

LCP-LCP bonding can form flexible 3D multi-layer fluid circuits

SEM micrograpgh showing channel crosssection in LCP microchannel

Flow channel under epiflouroscence microscope

LCP IN SENSORS
FLOW SENSOR

(a) When there is no flow rate, the cantilever is straight (b)Flow imparts momentum on the cantilever and causes bending (c)Bending induces strain at the base of the cantilever,which is sensed using a piezoresistive sensor

Deposition & patterning NiCr strain gauges on LCP

Deposition & patterning of Au/Cr wiring

Physical cutting of LCP to form sensor beam & bonding to glass carrier

Fabrication steps

Sensitivity comparable to Si- based devices

Sensor beam Strain gauge

Optical micrograph of a cantilever flow sensor

Experimentally measured output characteristics as a function of flow rate

TACTILE SENSORS
y Converts normal applied load into change in resistance

Maximum stress at the centre of edge of a square plate with fixed sides is linear with applied deflection y Tactile bump height ensures that stress doesnt exceed max value
y

Double sided alignment,deposition & patterning of NiCr strain gauges & Al mask on LCP

Patterning of Al followed by RIE on backside of cavity & removal of Al

Deposition & patterning of Au interconnects

Spin & pattern polymide tactile bumps Fabrication process flow

Array of tactile sensors can image tactile contact

Tactile membrane displacement measured using precision LVDT

Optical micrograph of an array of tactile sensors

Linear response over 20m range, with 0.86 Ohm/m sensitivity

LCP IN PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS

LCP used as base laminate in PCBs Good adhesion between the copper & LCP Good resistance to etching chemistry Negligible undercutting at interface

Cross-section of circuit traces on LCP

LCP circuitry traces & pads

Laser drilling used for hole making in LCP Cleaning using plasma treatment for clearing debris prior to metallisation

LCP as drilled (left) after plasma desmear (right)

CONCLUSION
y Usage of polymers in MEMS applications has become an

emerging trend
y LCP properties make it useful and suitable for MEMS industry y Microfabrication methods developed for use of LCP y Wide range of applications including packaging,sensors,PCB

processing ,substrate material makes LCP a versatile polymer

y Performance of LCP based devices comparable,if not higher, to

that of conventional Si based devices

REFERENCES
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Morgan Jikang Chen, Anh-Vu H. Pham, Nicole Andrea Evers,Chris Kapusta, Joseph Iannotti, William Kornrumpf, John J. Maciel, Nafiz Karabudak, Design and Development of a Package Using LCP for RF/Microwave MEMS Switches, IEEE Transactions On Microwave Theory And Techniques, Vol. 54, No. 11, November 2006 Tan Zhang & Wayne Johnson,Auburn University, Brian Farrell,Foster Miller, Inc, Michael St. Lawrence,Rogers Corporation, The Processing and Assembly of Liquid Crystalline Polymer Printed Circuits XuefengWang, Jonathan Engel and Chang Liu, Liquid crystal polymer (LCP) for MEMS:processes and applications, Journal Of Micromechanics And Microengineering,vol 13 (2003) 628633 M. M. R. Howladera and T. Sugab, Surface Activated Bonding Method for Flexible Lamination, Engineering Physics Department and Electrical and Computer Engineering Department,McMaster University Guoan Wang, Dane Thompson, Emmanouil M. Tentzeris and John Papapolymerou , Low Cost RF MEMS Switches Using LCP Substrate,School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Xuefeng Wang, Liang-Hsuan Lu, and Chang Liu,Microelectronics Laboratory, Micromachining Techniques For Liquid Crystal Polymer ,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,University of Jllinois at UrbanaChampaign http://ilo.technologypublisher.com/technology/5203

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QUESTIONS?