A lecture and hands-on laboratory course: introduction to micromachining and MEMS

A 10-week course on micromachining and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies has been designed and taught that incorporates both a lecture component (3 hours/week) and a hands-on laboratory component (4 hours/week). By completing this course the students gain an understanding and hands-on experience with photolithography, isotropic and anisotropic wet etching, dry etching, physical and chemical vapor deposition, electroplating, metrology, statistical design of experiments, MEMS release etching, stiction, and MEMS device testing. The layout of the course chip enables students to produce over 100 different devices using both bulk micromachining and surface micromachining. The layout of the chip includes microsensors (accelerometers, pressure sensor, resonant magnetometers), microactuators (torsional magnetic microactuators, optical switches, thermal microactuators), and microstructures (cantilever beams, bridges, neural probes, needles, thin-film stress test structures, bulk micromachining test structures, electrical test structures). This course prepares students to be active participants in the growing MEMS and microsystems industry.