Patent ID: 7026184

Claim:
A method of fabricating a micromachined device, comprising: forming a composite thin film layer stack on a substrate, the composite thin film layer stack having a plurality of etch-resistant layers; directionally etching a first portion of the composite thin film layer stack selectively masked by a first etch-resistant layer; directionally etching a first portion of the substrate selectively masked by the first etch-resistant layer to define a first composite thin film microstructure; isotropically etching a second portion of the substrate for a controlled period of time to remove substrate material from under the first composite thin film microstructure; removing a portion of the first etch-resistant layer; directionally etching a second portion of the composite thin film layer stack selectively masked by a second etch-resistant layer; and directionally etching a third portion of the substrate selectively masked by the second etch-resistant layer to define a second microstructure, the second microstructure comprising a composite thin film layer stack portion and a substrate layer portion.