3 research outputs found
Lithography and etching-free microfabrication of silicon carbide on insulator using direct UV laser ablation
Silicon carbide (SiC)ābased microsystems are promising alternatives for siliconābased counterparts in a wide range of applications aiming at conditions of high temperature, high corrosion, and extreme vibration/shock. However, its high resistance to chemical substances makes the fabrication of SiC particularly challenging and less costāeffective. To date, most SiC micromachining processes require timeāconsuming and highācost SiC dryāetching steps followed by metal wet etching, which slows down the prototyping and characterization process of SiC devices. This work presents a lithography and etchingāfree microfabrication for 3CāSiC on insulatorābased microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. In particular, a direct laser ablation technique to replace the conventional lithography and etching processes to form functional SiC devices from 3CāSiCāonāglass wafers is used. Utilizing a single lineācutting mode, both metal contact shapes and SiC microstructures can be patterned simultaneously with a remarkably fast speed of over 20ācmāsā1. As a proof of concept, several SiC microdevices, including temperature sensors, strain sensors, and microheaters, are demonstrated, showing the potential of the proposed technique for rapid and reliable prototyping of SiCābased MEMS