A low-cost, low-temperature packaging concept is proposed for localized sealing and control of the ambient of a device cavity appropriate for Radio-Frequency (RF) Micro- Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) devices, such as resonators and switches. These devices require application specific packaging to facilitate their integration, provide protection from the environment, and control interactions with other circuitry. In order to integrate these devices into standard integrated circuit (IC) process flows and minimize damage due to post-fabrication steps, packaging is performed at the wafer level. In this work Indium and Silver are used to seal a monolithic localized hermetic pack- age. The cavity protecting the device is formed using standard lithography-based processing techniques. Metal walls are built up from the substrate and encapsulated by a glass or silicon lid to create a monolithic micro-hermetic package surrounding a predefined RF microsystem. The bond for the seal is then formed by rapid alloying of Indium and Silver using a temperature greater than that of the melting point of Indium. This ensures that the seal formed can subsequently function at temperatures higher than the melting temperature of pure Indium. This method offers a low-temperature bonding technique with thermal robustness suitable for wafer-level process integration. The ultimate goal is to create a seal in a vacuum environment. In this dissertation, design trade-offs made in wafer-level packaging are explained using thermo-mechanical stress and electrical performance simulations. Prototype passive microwave circuits are packaged using the developed packaging process and the performance of the fabricated circuits before and after packaging is analyzed. The effect of the package on coplanar waveguide structures are characterized by measuring scattering parameters and models are developed as a design tool for wafer-level package integration. The small scale of the localized package is expected to provide greater reliability over conventional full chip packages. / Ph. D.

This thesis presents the development of wafer level vacuum packaging processes using Au-Si eutectic and glass frit bonding contributing to the improvement of packaging concepts for a variety of MEMS devices. In the first phase of this research, micromachined resonators and pirani vacuum gauges are designed for the evaluation of the vacuum package performance. These designs are verified using MATLAB and Coventorware finite element modeling tool. Designed resonators and pirani vacuum gauges and previously developed gyroscopes with lateral feedthroughs are fabricated with a newly developed Silicon-On-Glass (SOG) process. In addition to these, a process for the fabrication of similar devices with vertical feedthroughs is initiated for achieving simplified packaging process and lower parasitic capacitances. Cap wafers for both types of devices with lateral and vertical feedthroughs are designed and fabricated. The optimization of Au-Si eutectic bonding is carried out on both planar and non-planar surfaces. The bonding quality is evaluated using the deflection test, which is based on the deflection of a thinned diaphragm due to the pressure difference between inside and outside the package. A 100% yield bonding on planar surfaces is achieved at 390&ordm / C with a v holding time and bond force of 60 min and 1500 N, respectively. On the other hand, bonding on surfaces where 0.15&mu / m feedthrough lines exist can be done at 420&ordm / C with a 100% yield using same holding time and bond force. Furthermore, glass frit bonding on glass wafers with lateral feedthroughs is performed at temperatures between 435-450&ordm / C using different holding periods and bond forces. The yield is varied from %33 to %99.4 depending on the process parameters. The fabricated devices are wafer level vacuum packaged using the optimized glass frit and Au-Si eutectic bonding recipes. The performances of wafer level packages are evaluated using the integrated gyroscopes, resonators, and pirani vacuum gauges. Pressures ranging from 10 mTorr to 60 mTorr and 0.1 Torr to 0.7 Torr are observed in the glass frit packages, satisfying the requirements of various MEMS devices in the literature. It is also optically verified that Au-Si eutectic packages result in vacuum cavities, and further study is needed to quantify the vacuum level with vacuum sensors based on the resonating structures and pirani vacuum gauges.

This thesis presents methods for fabricating MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) actuators and high-flow gas microvalves using wafer-level integration of Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) in the form of wires and sheets. The work output per volume of SMA actuators exceeds that of other microactuation mechanisms, such as electrostatic, magnetic and piezoelectric actuation, by more than an order of magnitude, making SMA actuators highly promising for applications requiring high forces and large displacements. The use of SMAs in MEMS has so far been limited, partially due to a lack of cost efficient and reliable wafer-level integration approaches. This thesis presents new methods for wafer-level integration of nickel-titanium SMA sheets and wires. For SMA sheets, a technique for the integration of patterned SMA sheets to silicon wafers using gold-silicon eutectic bonding is demonstrated. A method for selective release of gold-silicon eutectically bonded microstructures by localized electrochemical etching, is also presented. For SMA wires, alignment and placement of NiTi wires is demonstrated forboth a manual approach, using specially built wire frame tools, and a semiautomatic approach, using a commercially available wire bonder. Methods for fixing wires to wafers using either polymers, nickel electroplating or mechanical silicon clamps are also shown. Nickel electroplating offers the most promising permanent fixing technique, since both a strong mechanical and good electrical connection to the wire is achieved during the same process step. Resistively heated microactuators are also fabricated by integrating prestrained SMA wires onto silicon cantilevers. These microactuators exhibit displacements that are among the highest yet reported. The actuators also feature a relatively low power consumption and high reliability during longterm cycling. New designs for gas microvalves are presented and valves using both SMA sheets and SMA wires for actuation are fabricated. The SMA-sheet microvalve exhibits a pneumatic performance per footprint area, three times higher than that of previous microvalves. The SMA-wire-actuated microvalve also allows control of high gas flows and in addition, offers benefits of lowvoltage actuation and low overall power consumption. / QC 20120514

Les progrès technologiques considérables menés depuis ces dernières décennies nous permettent aujourd’hui de disséminer dans notre environnement une nuée de noeuds de capteurs communicants combinant la taille micrométrique et la consommation dérisoire caractéristiques des MEMS avec la puissance des protocoles de communications Internet. L’Internet des Objets, formé par ce réseau de capteurs, possède le potentiel d‘optimiser un grand panel d’applications industrielles et domotiques. Le nouveau défi, que la communauté du Energy Harvesting tente de relever depuis une décennie maintenant, est de rendre ces noeuds de capteurs autonomes en les alimentant grâce à l’énergie perdue dans leur environnement. Dans ces travaux de recherche, nous explorons le potentiel d’un principe thermo-fluidique auto-oscillant pour la génération d’énergie utile à partir d’une source thermique de faible qualité. L’implémentation de cette technologie en tant que machine thermique est étudiée et mène à la caractérisation d’un nouveau cycle thermodynamique caractéristique du SOFHE (Self Oscillating Fluidic Heat Engine). Nous montrons, par une approche phénoménologique, que notre machine thermique se comporte comme un oscillateur mécanique, excité par les évaporations et condensations successives du fluide de travail. Ces changements de phase alternatifs mettent en mouvement une colonne d’eau, jouant le rôle de masse, couplée à une zone de vapeur, jouant le rôle d’un ressort. Une étude de l’influence du couplage du SOFHE avec un transducteur électromécanique, représenté par un oscillateur, mène à la conception et la fabrication d’une spirale piézoélectrique. L’intégration de cette spirale à notre machine thermique forme un générateur thermo-électrique dont les capacités de conversion sont démontrées par la charge d’une capacité. Finalement, la miniaturisation du principe thermo-fluidique SOFHE est rendue possible par la réalisation d’un procédé de fabrication utilisant les techniques MEMS. Des dispositifs miniatures parviennent à exhiber un comportement oscillatoire montrant le potentiel d’intégration de cette technologie. / Abstract : The tremendous technological progresses realized in the last decades allow us to swarm our environment with Wireless Sensors Networks. These WSNs combine the MEMS’ miniature size and low energy consumption, and the powerful Internet communication protocols. This Internet of Things shows great potential in many applications such as industry or housing. For a decade now, the Energy Harvesting community wants to build autonomous WSNs by enabling them to feed off energy wastes. In this work, we study the electricity generation capabilities of a Self-Oscillating Fluidic Heat Engine (SOFHE) and present its characteristic thermodynamic cycle. Our model shows that the SOFHE acts as a mechanical resonator excited by the successive evaporation and condensation processes underwent by the working fluid. These phase changes put a liquid mass in motion, coupled with a vapor spring. The coupling of our heat engine with an electromechanical transducer is studied and leads to a piezoelectric spiral conception and fabrication. Their association forms a thermo-electrical generator able to power and charge an electrical capacitor. Eventually, we demonstrate the miniaturization prospects and integration potential of this SOFHE technology. A micro-fabrication process enables a SOFHE MEMS implementation. Our process includes a deep glass wet etching step as well as a Au-Si eutectic wafer bonding.

This thesis presents methods for the wafer-level integration of shape memory alloy (SMA) and electrostatic actuators to functionalize MEMS devices. The integration methods are based on heterogeneous integration, which is the integration of different materials and technologies. Background information about the actuators and the integration method is provided. SMA microactuators offer the highest work density of all MEMS actuators, however, they are not yet a standard MEMS material, partially due to the lack of proper wafer-level integration methods. This thesis presents methods for the wafer-level heterogeneous integration of bulk SMA sheets and wires with silicon microstructures. First concepts and experiments are presented for integrating SMA actuators with knife gate microvalves, which are introduced in this thesis. These microvalves feature a gate moving out-of-plane to regulate a gas flow and first measurements indicate outstanding pneumatic performance in relation to the consumed silicon footprint area. This part of the work also includes a novel technique for the footprint and thickness independent selective release of Au-Si eutectically bonded microstructures based on localized electrochemical etching. Electrostatic actuators are presented to functionalize MEMS crossbar switches, which are intended for the automated reconfiguration of copper-wire telecommunication networks and must allow to interconnect a number of input lines to a number of output lines in any combination desired. Following the concepts of heterogeneous integration, the device is divided into two parts which are fabricated separately and then assembled. One part contains an array of double-pole single-throw S-shaped actuator MEMS switches. The other part contains a signal line routing network which is interconnected by the switches after assembly of the two parts. The assembly is based on patterned adhesive wafer bonding and results in wafer-level encapsulation of the switch array. During operation, the switches in these arrays must be individually addressable. Instead of controlling each element with individual control lines, this thesis investigates a row/column addressing scheme to individually pull in or pull out single electrostatic actuators in the array with maximum operational reliability, determined by the statistical parameters of the pull-in and pull-out characteristics of the actuators. / QC20100729