3-D silicon carbide surface micromachined accelerometer compatible with CMOS processing

This paper presents the fabrication process and results of the 3D silicon carbide surface micromachined accelerometer compatible with CMOS processing. PECVD silicon carbide as mechanical material and aluminium as electrodes were used. Due to thermal budget of maximum processing temperature of 400degC, the sensor is fabricated on top of the CMOS readout circuit as a post-processing module. The sensor is designed to operate in range -5/+5 g with sensitivity 1.8 fF/g in the vertical direction and 3.2 fF/g in the lateral direction. The preliminary measurement shows an initial capacitance of 0.42 pF and 0.23 pF in vertical and lateral directions, respectively.