Study and Applications of a Parylene Self-Sealing Structure

Stiction is a notorious yield and reliability problem for MEMS devices. On the other hand, this phenomenon can be utilized to fabricate some novel micro structures or devices. This paper presents the theoretical analysis and experimental investigation of a parylene annular-plate self-sealing structure which takes advantage of the stiction phenomenon. Theoretical guidelines that help to select appropriate parameters are developed based on the energy method. The accuracy of these guidelines is also verified experimentally. Two applications of the self-sealing stiructure, MM microchannels and electrolysis microactuators, are successfully demonstrated.