Thermal assembly of polysilicon microactuators with narrow-gap electrostatic comb drive

Author

Fedder, G.K. ; Chang, J.C. ; Howe, R.T.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., California Univ., Berkley, CA, USA

fYear

1992

fDate

22-25 June 1992

Firstpage

63

Lastpage

68

Abstract

Surface micromachined, polysilicon fuse and weld microstructures are modeled, fabricated, and characterized. The current required to cut the thin, 2000 AA fuse is 30 mA, compared to 80 mA for a 2 mu m-thick fuse. For large currents, a simple model shows that the time to cut a fuse is inversely proportional to the square of the current. An aluminum microbridge is used to form a robust weld, connecting two polysilicon structures. The surface tension of the molten Al produces a force of approximately 15 mu M, which is about 100 times larger than electrostatic comb drive forces. A series of current pulses is used to melt the Al without destroying the weld joint.<>

Keywords

electric actuators; electrostatic devices; elemental semiconductors; micromechanical devices; resistance welding; semiconductor technology; silicon; 30 mA; Al; fusible supports; microbridge; narrow-gap electrostatic comb drive; polycrystalline Si; polysilicon microactuators; resistive cutting; surface tension; thermal microassembly; weld joint; weldable structures; Aluminum; Assembly; Electrostatics; Fuses; Joining processes; Microactuators; Microstructure; Robustness; Surface tension; Welding;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop, 1992. 5th Technical Digest., IEEE

Conference_Location

Hilton Head Island, SC, USA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0456-X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/SOLSEN.1992.228275

Filename

228275