Patent Document

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/291,423 filed May 18, 2001. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to tunable and re-configurable microwave systems, and, in particular, to the fabrication of re-configurable silicon-based integrated circuits, with integrated electromechanical switches and capacitors. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Microelectromechanical switches (MEMS) have been shown to have very low losses at very high frequencies. Compared to traditional active microwave switches based on transistors or diodes, the quality factors (i.e., 1/R on  C off , where R on  is the resistance of the switch in the ON-state and C off  is the capacitance in the OFF-state) of MEMS switches are very high. Therefore, MEMS microwave components are suitable for in many types of applications. 
     High quality MEMS switches enable the construction of electrical systems with greatly improved functionality and flexibility. Such systems can be electrically re-configured to perform many different electrical functions without a loss of significant operating quality. However, if the electromechanical switches, control circuitry for the switches, and conductive traces among which the electrical reconfiguration is done are fabricated on different substrates, such benefits would not be as significant. Monolithic fabrication is very important for achieving the quality, reliability, functionality, and low-cost of such MEMS systems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a low-loss micro-electromechanical microwave switch and a micro-electromechanical tunable capacitor monolithically integrated with low-cost silicon-based integrated circuits. The microwave switch of the present invention is capable of handling signals from DC to millimeter-wave frequencies. Both the switch and tunable capacitor include movable beams actuated either by thermo-mechanical or electrostatic forces. The movable beams are formed by selectively removing the supporting silicon underneath the thin films available in a silicon-based integrated circuit technology, which incorporates at least one polysilicon layer and two metallization layers. A cavity and a thick, low-loss metallization layer are used to form an electrode above the movable beam. A thick mechanical support layer is formed in regions where the cavity is located, or the substrate is bulk-micromachined (i.e., etched). 
     The devices are fabricated directly on finished silicon-based integrated circuit wafers, such as CMOS, BiCMOS or bipolar wafers. The present invention uses monolithic integration wherein the MEMS devices are connected to the integrated circuits necessary to control their operation, the integrated circuits being on the same substrate as the MEMS devices they control. In the present invention, this processing is performed on non-active circuit areas, i.e., where “passive” components, such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, interconnections, etc. are located. The functions and operation characteristics of active circuits do not change as a results of the process sequence of the present invention. 
     Reconfiguration capability is an advantage of the MEMS-IC integration of the present invention. For example, a frequency selective filter based on MEMS devices, such as MEMS switches and MEMS tunable capacitors and/or inductors allows the switches to switch-in (or out) selected passive component(s) to the circuit configuration of the filter. By switching in and out electrical components into the circuit configuration, the overall circuit can be changed. Thus, for example, a passive LC filter can be changed from low-pass filter to bandpass filter by switching-in a selected set of inductors and capacitors. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows two perspective views of two halves of a preferred embodiment of the electromechanical switch of the present invention, where the switch has been split open to show its internal construction. 
     FIG.  2 ( a ) is a perspective view of the bottom side of the electromechanical switch shown in FIG. 1, where the substrate and superstrate mechanical support layers are not shown for ease in understanding the operation of the switch. 
     FIG.  2 ( b ) is a perspective view of the top side of a preferred embodiment of the electromechanical tunable capacitor of the present invention, where the substrate and superstrate mechanical support layers are not shown for ease in understanding the operation of the switch. 
     FIG.  2 ( c ) is a perspective view of the bottom side of the electromechanical tunable capacitor shown in FIG.  2 ( b ), where the substrate and superstrate mechanical support layers are not shown for ease in understanding the operation of the switch. 
     FIG.  2 ( d ) is a perspective view of another embodiment of the electromechanical switch of the present invention using electrostatic actuation. 
     FIG. 3 is a graph showing deflection data for cantilever beams, such as that used in the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the electromechanical switch shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an electromechanical switch shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5  shown in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG.  6 ( a ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5  after a full, standard, single polysilicon, double metallization CMOS process sequence. 
     FIG.  6 ( b ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5  after deposition and patterning of the sacrificial film which defines an air-cavity in which the switch&#39;s beam moves. 
     FIG.  6 ( c ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5  after deposition of the seed layer necessary for electro-deposition of thick conductive films. 
     FIG.  6 ( d ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5  after deposition and patterning of a mold necessary for electro-deposition of thick conductive films. 
     FIG.  6 ( e ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5  after electro-deposition of a thick conductive film. 
     FIG.  6 ( f ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5  after deposition of non-conductive mechanical support layer before which the mold used during electro-deposition and the seed layer are removed. 
     FIG.  6 ( g ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5 , after deposition of a masking layer and patterning by front-to-back aligned lithography. 
     FIG.  6 ( h ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5 , after selective removal of silicon substrate through the mask. 
     FIG.  6 ( i ) is a cross-sectional view of the electromechanical switch of FIG. 4 taken along the section line  5 — 5 , after removal of the sacrificial film which defines the air-cavity in which the switch&#39;s beam moves. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the electromechanical switch  10  of the present invention where switch  10  has been split open to show its internal construction. FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the electromechanical switch  10  in FIG.  1 . FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of switch  10  taken along section line  5 — 5  shown in FIG.  4 . Switch  10  is fabricated on a silicon wafer substrate  25 , and includes a movable beam  12  that is attached to substrate  25  and that moves within a cavity  14  to contact a conductive metal bridge  13 . Deposited on top of substrate  25  is a superstrate  23  which supports conductive bridge  13 . FIG.  2 ( a ) is a bottom view of a thermally-actuated embodiment of switch  10 , illustrated without the mechanical support layers, i.e., substrate  25  and superstrate  23 , being shown for ease in understanding the operation of switch  10 . As noted in the Summary of the Invention, the present invention uses monolithic integration wherein MIEMS devices, such as switch  10 , are connected to the integrated circuits necessary to control their operation. As shown in FIG. 4, the integrated circuits  100  are fabricated on the same substrate  25  as the MEMS devices they control, such as switch  10 . 
     As shown in FIG.  2 ( a ), switch  10  includes an n-shaped polysilicon heater  20  and two traces  22  that are formed in a first metal layer (not shown as before etching). Traces  22  provide power to heater  20  through connections  21 . Above traces  22  are metal traces  11  and  9  which are deposited as part of a second level of metallization (also not shown as before etching). Traces  11  and  9  form microwave waveguides. Coplanar waveguides are preferred because the ground planes  11  are formed in the same plane as the signal plane  9 . Deposited between these conducting layers are dielectric layers  17 ,  18  and  19 , which function as insulating layers. Layer  17  is a field oxide layer, while layer  18  is an insulating layer between the first polysilicon layer and the first metal layer. Layer  19  is an insulating layer between the first metal layer and the second metal layer. Layer  15  is an insulating layer that covers the second metal layer. FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of device formed using a one polysilicon layer and two metal layer CMOS process. The number of interconnection layers, i.e., metal layers, can be increased for more complex designs, such as modern CMOS processes that produce tens of millions of transistors in small areas which require as many as ten metal interconnection layers. 
     Moving beam  12  of MEMS switch  10  is formed using a thin-film deposited during IC fabrication. Moving beam  12  is a released layer, which, along with polysilicon heater  20 , is fully released, except on one side. Deposited over second metal layer  11  and beam  12  is a dielectric layer  15  which functions as an insulating layer. Directly above beam  12  is a conductive bridge  13  formed using a third layer metallization  33  (see FIG.  6 ( g )), which is deposited as a part of the fabrication sequence described in FIGS.  6 ( a ) to  6 ( i ). Conductive bridge  13  is electrically connected to ground plane  11  through a plurality of cuts  16  in insulating layer  15 . Bridge  13  is connected to ground plane  11  to achieve a shunt switching function, i.e., the signal line  40  is connected and disconnected to ground plane  11  through bridge  13 . 
     Beam  12  is mechanically free to move in a vertical direction. Because of internal mechanical stresses, beam  12  is typically curved away from the surface of the silicon wafer  25  towards bridge  13 . However, when beam  12  is heated by applying voltage across the polysilicon heater  20  embedded in beam  12 , the curvature of beam  12  changes. 
     Data depicting the deflection of a cantilever beam, such as beam  12 , is shown in FIG.  3 . The data shown in FIG. 3 were taken using a non-contact interferometer system (not shown) at ambient room temperature and pressure. Curvature of a cantilever beam ultimately depends on the temperature profile along the beam. Temperature measurements taken along beam  12  show that the temperature profile along such beam is not constant. The temperature profile changes, depending on many factors, including local heat generation, local curvature (which is not constant), and ambient pressure (unforced air convection). Similarly, local heat generation along beam  12  depends on the local temperature and local grain structure in polysilicon heater  20 . Despite the fact that the starting grain structure is fairly uniform across polysilicon heater  20 , this uniformity is eventually lost. Nonlinear resistance behavior of polysilicon features is well-known for unsuspended polysilicon structures, but there are very few studies on suspended polysilicon structures, so more studies are needed to understand all important factors in determining the profile of a thermally-actuated beam. However, it is well-known that, once heat is generated, the tip of a cantilever, such as beam  12 , can be controlled over large distances. 
     The fundamental effect that causes the change in the curvature of beam  12  is known as a bi-morph effect. It is the result of differences in thermal expansion coefficients between two materials. As shown in FIG. 4, a cantilever, such as beam  12 , might contain many conducting (typically metal) and insulating layers (typically oxide). If a commonly available IC process is used, the metal layers would be Aluminum, while the insulation layers would be silicon dioxide. As beam  12  is heated, the metal pieces expand much faster than the insulating layers, thereby decreasing the beam curvature. 
     Thus, the basis for the operation of microwave switch  10  is a bi-morph effect. The height of the air-bridge  13  is chosen, such that for a particular cantilever beam design (length, width, combinations of thin-films), in an un-powered state (electrically ON-state), the tip of beam  12  would contact metal bridge  13 , so that the signal-line (not shown) is connected to ground plane  11 . For example, for a 200 μm long beam, the data for which is shown in FIG. 3, the height of bridge  13  can be chosen to be 25 μm or less. Although it is possible to have metal-to-metal contact in this configuration, simply by increasing the contact area at the tip of beam  12 , because of stiction issues, in an unpowered state, the tip of beam  12  is designed to have metal-to-dielectric contact. (see the FIG. 5, the parts of  15  remaining on top of  9  will touch the bridge  13 . In metal-to-metal contact there won&#39;t be such dielectric pieces on top above  9 .) Integrated circuit  100  then senses and controls movable beam  12 &#39;s positioning relative to bridge  13  by controlling the current flowing through beam  12 . 
     In addition, because of manufacturability issues, it is preferred to have bridge heights of less than 15 μm. The basic consideration involves the determination of tolerable power dissipation at the powered state (electrically OFF-state, no connection between signal line and ground plane). The amount of actuation is determined by the power dissipation (equivalently generated heat) and the length of beam  12 . Using the same power, larger deflections can be obtained at the tip of longer beams, such as beam  12 . 
     Another issue, which must be considered for the design of switch  10  is the ON-state and OFF-state capacitance ratio of switch  10 . It is desirable to have high capacitance ratios, for example 100:1, to assure lower loss in the ON-state and high-isolation in the OFF-state. ON-state capacitance can be increased by increasing the contact area, increasing the dielectric constant of the material between metal layers in contact areas and decreasing the thickness of the dielectric layer. As discussed above, if desired, it is possible to design the contact area ( 15  in FIG. 4 shows the contact area) between beam  12  and bridge  13  to have metal-to-metal contact. On the other hand, OFF-state capacitance depends on the separation of contact surfaces and the area of contact surface. It is preferable to have as much separation as possible in the OFF-state, but the amount of separation is limited by available power, length of beam and fabrication limits. 
     Switch  10  can also be used as a tunable capacitor. Switch  10  provides a capacitance with a huge capacitance ratio. However, it should be pointed out that the cantilever architecture is more suitable for the binary operation of a switch, rather than the more demanding continuous operation of a tunable capacitor. A thermally actuated fixed-fixed beam is better for tunable capacitor applications. 
     FIGS. 2 b  and  2   c  show the preferred embodiment of a series tunable capacitor  40  of the present invention, but without mechanical supports being illustrated. 
     A polysilicon heater  41  is employed at the backside of the lower plate  42 , as shown in FIG.  2 ( c ). The connections  43  to polysilicon heater  41  are formed using a first metal layer (again  43  is a part of the first metal layer). The variable capacitance is obtained between the second metal layer (top surface  44  of lower plate  42 ) and the third metal layer ( 45  shows the third metal layer), which forms the upper plate  45 . Upper plate  45  is fixed, but lower plate on beam  42  can be actuated by using a bi-morph effect and polysilicon heater  41  buried within lower plate  42 . 
     It should be noted that fixed-fixed beams can potentially buckle in both direction, i.e., into silicon or away from silicon. But, it has also been found that if a field-oxide layer is used, a very large percentage of fixed-fixed beams buckle away from silicon. A field-oxide layer (shown as  17  in FIG. 5) is a relatively thick thermally grown silicon dioxide layer which is under large compressive stress. If a field-oxide layer is incorporated into the beam structure of capacitor  40 , it would lie directly on the surface (not shown) of silicon wafer  25 . Therefore, once the beam  42  is released, it would be the bottom layer, i.e., field oxide layer  17  underneath beam  42 . If this layer is omitted, special precautions must be taken to assure the buckling direction of beam  42 . In this case, the desired direction is away from surface of silicon wafer  25 , or towards the upper plate  45 . 
     Inclusion of a field-oxide layer has some undesired effects as well. Since it is so thick and significantly increases the stiffness of beam  42 , it also increases the power levels necessary to achieve desired capacitance ratio. When beam  42  buckles, it has a well-known raised cosine profile, but since it is not an ideal fixed-fixed beam, the real beam profile is fairly difficult to predict. This is especially true if beam  42  is much wider than polysilicon heater  41 . The high frequency connection  46  to lower plate  42  can be changed from a straight connection, as shown FIG.  2 ( b ) to connections to the edges. This would increase the reflection, but the thermo-electro-mechanical problem would become more manageable by simply assuming an ideal fixed-fixed beam. 
     The preferred capacitive embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS.  2 ( b ) and  2 ( c ) uses a coplanar configuration. Ground planes  47  are formed using a second metal layer (not shown). Upper electrode  45  is fully supported by a mechanical support layer  48 , and has a single electrical contact  49  to signal line of the output port (see FIG.  2 ( b ). 
     The capacitance of capacitor  40  is varied by changing the power dissipation in lower plate  42 , whose maximum deflection decreases in response to increased heat from heater  41 . The capacitance density also changes with the location of lower plate  42 , since upper plate  45  remains flat as lower plate  42  develops a raised-cosine shape. The capacitance per unit length (measured in vertical direction to heater direction) is calculated in closed form. Maximum to minimum capacitance ratios higher than 10:1 and a quality factor of more than  50  can be achieved with this architecture. 
     Although the switch and variable capacitor embodiments of the present invention shown in FIGS.  2 ( a ) to  2 ( c ) use thermal actuation, the present invention can also be implemented using electrostatic actuation. With electrostatic actuation, the third metal layer is kept fixed, while the moveable membrane is formed using layers available in a semiconductor process alone. A preferred embodiment of an electrostatically actuated shunt switch  50  according to the invention is shown in FIG.  2 ( d ). The construction of the electrostatically actuated shunt switch  50  is generally the same as switch  10  shown in FIGS.  1  and  2 ( a ), except as explained below. 
     A moveable beam  50  consists of at least three metal pieces,  51 ,  52 ,  53 , formed on the second metal layer encapsulated in a membrane formed by inter-layer dielectric films. Metal pieces  51  and  52  are used for electrostatic actuation. They are connected to a voltage source (not shown) which is an integrated circuit located elsewhere on wafer  25 . Metal piece  53  closes a gap  62  between two signal strips  60  and  61  directly above metal piece  53 , once beam  50  is pulled-up by electrostatic actuation. Ideally, there is no dielectric on the surface of metal piece  53  so as to allow metal-to-metal contact between metal piece  53  and signal strips  60  and  61 . To minimize sticktion, it is possible to add a thin layer of dielectric cover on metal piece  53 . All three metal pieces,  51 ,  52  and  53  are typically encapsulated in dielectric films (typically oxide), but to allow free vertical motion of beam  50 , metal piece  53  is isolated from an overlaying dielectric film membrane  56  by cuts in such film shown by openings  54 . Additional etch-holes  55  in dielectric membrane  56  are added to facilitate the formation of a cavity  57 . 
     A microwave waveguide is formed on third metal layer by using metal pieces,  58 ,  59 ,  60 , and  61 . Here again, such pieces form a coplanar waveguide configuration including ground planes  58  and  59  and signal planes  60  and  61 . With gap  62  between signal planes  60  and  61 , a signal cannot be transmitted. Ground planes  58  and  59  act as upper electrodes for electrostatic actuation. So, when a transmission through signal planes  60  and  61  is desired, beam  50  is pulled up by applying a voltage higher than the threshold voltage of the switch. Ground planes  58  and  59  are connected to circuit vias  63  and  64 . These vias are formed as a part of third metal layer right above contact pads  64 . Hence, circuit vias  63  and  64  are electrically connected to integrated circuits elsewhere on the wafer. Finally, ground planes  58  and  59  and signal planes  60  and  61  are supported by the mechanical support layer  23 . 
     FIGS.  6 ( a ) through  6 ( i ) illustrate a preferred fabrication process for making the preferred embodiment of switch  10  of the present invention. This preferred process is based on semiconductor thin film deposition and photolithography processes, which are well known prior art. Other fabrication sequences which are obvious to those skilled in the art are also within the scope of the present invention. 
     The preferred embodiment of the electromechanical switch is fabricated using a semiconductor process in which a polysilicon layer, a first metal layer, and a second metal layer are deposited on a silicon wafer. By convention, in semiconductor processes, the layers are named according to their order of deposition. The first metal layer is the closest to the silicon substrate among metal layers, although it may be deposited on top of multiple layers of polysilicon. All the conductive layers are separated by insulating layers. 
     FIG.  6 ( a ) shows a cross-sectional view of a completed semiconductor chip  26 . For thermal actuation at least one polysilicon layer  20  is needed, but other, resistive layers, which are typically used to form resistors, can be used as well. In CMOS processing, substrate  25  is silicon, but with proper process changes at substrate at etch step, it is possible to fabricate similar devices on GaAs, SiC or other exotic substrate materials as well. 
     Another important consideration is the use of vias  27  (i.e., cuts in insulating layers) in a given process technology. To increase yield, the IC design rules set by a given foundry may be very restrictive. It is essential to have the capability of dielectric stacked vias, which can directly expose substrate material for the fabrication sequence to be useful. Although there are several foundries allowing such via formations, typically, IC stacked vias are discouraged to improve the planarity of layers. If such vias are not allowed in an IC process, an additional masking layer is necessary to cut through the insulating layers  15 ,  17 ,  18  and  19  shown in FIG.  6 ( a ). 
     In FIG.  6 ( b ), a thick sacrificial layer  30  is patterned in area  14  (see FIG.  5 ), that defines the cavity which allows free movement of beam  12 . The thickness of sacrificial layer  30  is determined by design requirements and fabrication limits. Photoresist, polymers and even metals can be used as sacrificial layer  30 . It is preferable to use photosensitive materials which can be removed easily layer, therefore photoresists, especially thick varieties such as AZ 4600 series, AZ 9600 series, and Shipley 220 series can be used to achieve 3-20 μm thick features with fairly good aspect ratio. Since aspect ratio is not critical for this application, resist and regular contact lithography would also be acceptable for this step. 
     FIG.  6 ( c ) shows the next step of forming the mold necessary for electroplating. For this step, a seed layer  31  is deposited. Since gold is the preferred third metallization layer, seed layer  31  includes an adhesion and gold layer. A thin layer (100-300A) of chromium or titanium can be used for this purpose. If desired, a stack of Cr/gold/Cr can be used to minimize any step coverage issues. Preferably, gold thickness is 1000A-3000A. Both of these materials  31  can be deposited using either evaporation or sputtering. Proper sputter clean-up should then be performed to remove native oxide in exposed surfaces of second level metal pads prior to seed layer deposition. This greatly improves contact resistance and repeatability. 
     As shown in FIG.  6 ( d ), once seed layer  31  is deposited, a second layer of thick resist is used to form a mold  32  for subsequent gold plating. Again, the same variety of resists can be used to form mold  32 . Minimum features should be larger than 5 μm at this step. Resist thickness should be more than the cavity height, to minimize lithography problems. Uniform resist thickness is hard to achieve by spin casting, but it is not necessary anyway. For 5 μm thick gold deposition, it would be preferable to have resist thickness of more than 5 μm. To lower cost, this sequence does not include any chemical-mechanical-polishing (CMP) step after gold deposition. It is also important not to overplate structures. 
     In FIG.  6 ( e ), about 5 μm thick gold is electroplated on wafer  25  through the exposed areas to form metal conductive bridge  13 . This can be done using many available non-cyanide based gold plating solutions. 
     The step shown in FIG.  6 ( f ) consists of three minor steps. First, resist mold  32  is stripped, and then seed layer  31  is partially removed, since seed layer  31  can not be removed under bridge  13 . Preferably, both of these steps are done using dry etching systems. If cavity  14  is defined using another resist layer, it is important to assure that it is well covered during the resist mold  32  strip operation. Oxygen plasma is can be used to ash resist mold  32 . Similarly, sputter etch can be used to strip metal seed layer  31 . 
     Finally, a superstrate  23  is deposited on top of switch  10 , as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Several different materials can be used for this purpose. Polyimides, such as Epo-Tek 600 or DuPont&#39;s Pyralin, can be screen-printed on this area. Several good alternatives are emerging from high density interconnect (HDI) area, especially photoimageable versions of sequentially build-up microvia organic substrates are very promising. Examples of such substrates include DuPont&#39;s dry film ViaLux 81, Vantico&#39;s liquid Probelec 81, Enthone&#39;s liquid Envision PDD 9015, MacDermid&#39;s liquid Macuvia-C, Shipley Royal&#39;s Aspire MultiPosit 2000 and DynaVia 2000. Most of these materials have glass transition temperatures less than 200° C. For better coverage, liquid ones are preferable, but it has been observed that steps as high as 20 μm can be covered very easily by dry film varieties as well. Typically, the thickness of these films can vary between 10 to 100 μm in a single coat. If the cavity cannot be stabilized mechanically in a single coat, as many coats as needed must be applied over the cavity area, whereby superstrate  23  is formed from a plurality of layers  23   a  to  23   n.  Typically, for a cavity height of &lt;20 μm, superstrate  23  height of 50 to 100 μm is enough. Finally, BCB (benzocyclobutene)-based polymers such as Dow Chemical&#39;s Cyclotene family can be used for this purpose as well. Compared to microvia dielectrics, BCB has lower loss at high frequencies (&gt;1 GHz) and also lower dielectric constant (˜2.7), but typically the film thickness is less than 10 μm per coat. Therefore, it would require more processing. 
     In FIG.  6 ( g ), the backside  36  of substrate  25  is patterned to form a mask  35  by using front to back alignment to expose only the part of substrate  25 , which needs to be removed from back  36 . The front side of substrate  25  is also spray coated to minimize any interactions to with the etchant, such as XeF2. 
     FIG.  6 ( h ) shows selective removal of silicon substrate  25  from area  24  using mask  35 . For silicon substrates, numerous etching techniques can be employed. The preferred approach is the use of pulsed XeF2 etch because of it is very high selectivity to silicon. XeF2 is an isotropic etchant. The etch surface gets rougher and less predictable as the etch goes on, therefore thinner substrates are preferable at this step. For substrates other than silicon, the etch technique must be changed accordingly. 
     Finally, FIG.  6 ( i ) is a cross-sectional view of electromechanical switch  10  after removal of the sacrificial film  30  which defines air-cavity  14 . Once the silicon of substrate  25  is completely removed in the designated area  24 , beam  12  is released by removing the photoresist  30  that fills cavity  14 . This can be done using a standard wet resist stripper application, followed by an oxygen plasma application to completely clean cavity  14 . As cantilever beam  12  is released, it curves or buckles in cavity  14  so as to touch the third metal layer, bridge  13 . 
     While the invention has been described in the context of a preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the true scope of the invention, leading to numerous alternative embodiments. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications of the invention, which fall within the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: 7