The goal of the current study was to develop a computational framework for modelling the coupled fluid-structure interaction problem of squeeze films often encountered in MEMS devices. Vibratory MEMS devices such as gyroscopes, RF switches, and 2D resonators often have a thin plate like structure vibrating transversely to a Fixed substrate, and are generally not perfectly vacuum packed. This results in a thin air film being trapped between the vibrating plate and the fixed substrate which behaves like a squeeze film offering both stiffness and damping to the vibrating plate. For accurate modelling of the squeeze film effect, one must account for the coupled fluid-structure interaction. The majority of prior works attempting to address the coupled problem either approximate the mode shape of the vibrating plate or resort to cumbersome iterative solution strategies to address the problem in an indirect way. In the current work, we discuss the development of a fully coupled finite element based numerical scheme to solve the 2D Reynolds equation coupled with the 3D plate elasticity equation in a single step. The squeeze film solver so developed has been implemented into a commercial FEA package NISA as part of its Micro-Systems module. Further, extending on a prior analytical work, the effect of variable ow boundaries for an all sides clamped plate on squeeze film parameters has been thoroughly investigated. The developed FEM based numerical scheme has been used to validate the results of the prior analytical study. The developed numerical scheme models the 2D Reynolds equation thus limiting the model to account for the effects of the fluid volume strictly confined between the structure and the substrate. To study the effect of surrounding fluid volume ANSYS FLOTRAN simulations have been performed by numerically solving the full 3D Navier Stokes equation in the extended fluid domain for the different flow boundary scenarios. Cut-off frequencies are established beyond which one can consider a 2D fluid domain without considerable loss of accuracy. First, a displacement based finite element formulation is presented for the 2D Reynolds equation coupled with the 3D elasticity equation. Both lower order 8 node and higher order 27 node 3D elements are developed. Only a single type of 3D element is used for modelling along with a 2D fluid layer represented by the \wet" face of the 3D structural domain. The results from our numerical model are compared with experimental data from literature for a MEMS cantilever. The results from the 27 node displacement based elements show good agreement with published experimental data. The results from the lower order 8 node displacement based elements however show huge errors even for relatively fine meshes due to locking issues in modelling high aspect ratio structures. This limits the implementation of the displacement based solver in commercial FE packages where the available mesh generators are generally restricted to lower order 3D elements. In order to overcome the limitations faced by lower order elements (primarily locking issues) in modelling high aspect ratio MEMS geometries, a coupled hybrid formulation is developed next. A thorough performance study is presented considering both the hybrid and displacement based elements for lower order 8 node and higher order 27 node ele- ments. The optimal element choice for modelling squeeze film geometries is determined based on the comparative studies. The effect of element aspect ratio for hybrid and displacement based elements are studied and the superiority of hybrid formulation over displacement based formulations is established for lower order 8 node elements. The coupled hybrid nite element formulation developed for lower order elements is implemented in the commercial FEA package NISA. The implementation scheme to integrate the developed coupled hybrid 8 node squeeze film solver into the commercial FEA package is discussed. The pre-integration analysis and subsequent requirement gaps are first investigated. Based on the gap analysis, certain GUI modifications are undertaken and parser programs are developed to re-format data according to NISA input requirements. Certain special features are included in the package to aid in post processing data analysis by MEMS designers such as \frequency sweep" and \node of interest" selection. As a case study for validation, we also present the modelling of a MEMS cantilever and show that the simulation results from our software are in good agreement with experimental data reported in the literature. Finally as a case study, an extension of a prior analytical work, which studies the effect of varying flow boundaries on squeeze film parameters, is discussed. Explanations are provided for the findings reported in the prior analytical work. The concept of using variation in flow boundaries as a frequency tuning tool is introduced. The analytical results are validated with the coupled numerical scheme discussed before, by considering imposed mode shape for an all sides clamped plate as prescribed displacement to the fluid domain. The simulated results are used to study the intricacies in squeeze film damping and stiffness variations with respect to spatial changes in the fluid flow boundary conditions. In particular, it has been shown that the boundary venting conditions can be used effectively to tune the dynamic response of a micromechanical structure over a fairly large range of frequencies and somewhat smaller range of squeeze film damping. Next, the effect of the surrounding fluid volume for various venting conditions is studied. ANSYS FLOTRAN is used to solve for the full 3D Navier Stokes equation over the extended fluid domain. Results from the extended domain study are used to determine cut-off frequencies beyond which one need not resort to an extended mesh study, and yet be within 5% accuracy of the full extended mesh model.

La tendance actuelle vers la miniaturisation des circuits électroniques a poussé vers ledéveloppement des systèmes sur puce (SoC : System on Chip) contenant plusieurs composants. Cescomposants réalisant des fonctions variées, ont besoin de différentes tensions d’alimentation fourniesà l’aide de plusieurs convertisseurs DC/DC connectés à l’alimentation du SoC. Actuellement, laplupart des circuits électroniques dans les applications portables contiennent des convertisseursDC/DC conventionnels utilisant une inductance pour stocker transitoirement l’énergie électrique.L’inductance étant un composant passif difficilement intégrable, ces convertisseurs sontconnectés à l’extérieur de la puce. Une alternative aux convertisseurs conventionnels est leconvertisseur à capacités commutés, qui a l’avantage d’être facilement intégrable sur silicium.Toutefois, il présente des limitations à cause de la dépendance du facteur de conversion avec lenombre de condensateurs. De plus, les pertes inhérentes à la charge et à la décharge descondensateurs font diminuer son rendement. Il est donc intéressant de trouver une nouvellealternative pour concevoir un convertisseur DC/DC compact et performant afin d’obtenir un circuitélectronique complètement intégrable sur silicium.Le sujet de cette thèse répond au besoin d’une nouvelle méthode de conversion DC/DCintégrable sur silicium et à haut rendement. L’idée est d’utiliser une capacité variable mécaniquementà la place d’une inductance pour stocker l’énergie électrique transitoire. Le condensateur variable serafabriqué par des procédés de fabrication de microsystème MEMS sur silicium ce qui permet d’intégrerla totalité du convertisseur.Dans ce mémoire, nous expliquons tout d’abord le principe et le fonctionnement d’un abaisseur etd’un élévateur de tension utilisant notre nouvelle approche. Par la suite, nous présentons laconception et la fabrication d'un MEMS adapté à la conversion de tension. Finalement, nousexpliquons notre méthode de contrôle utilisant une commutation à zéro de tension. Le rendement d'unélévateur 10V-20V obtenu par simulation est de l’ordre de 88% lorsque la gestion électrique estréalisée avec des composants discrets. Ce rendement très prometteur, devrait être amélioré dans lefutur lorsque tout le système sera intégré sur silicium. / Current trends towards miniaturization of electronic circuits had led to the advent of System onChip containing different types of circuits indented to perform different functions. These sub-systemsrequire different supply voltages that are delivered from the SoC supply voltage using several DC/DCconverters. Currently, most of the electronic circuits of portable applications use conventional SMPS(switch mode power supply) DC/DC converters containing an inductor element to stock temporally theelectrical energy.In this case the converter is outside the chip since the integration of the inductor is very difficultand that resistive losses increase when the coil diameter decreases. The alternative to use switchedcapacitor converters, which can be easily integrated on silicon, presents some limitations because ofthe dependence of the required number of capacitors on the conversion ratio, and because ofswitching losses due to the charge and the discharge of the capacitors inducing a decrease of theconversion efficiency. For that reason, it is interesting to develop a new alternative that allows thefabrication of a compact and efficient DC/DC converter in order to get a completely integrated system.This thesis focuses on a novel solution based on electrostatic MEMS in order to make anintegrated DC/DC converter with high efficiency. A mechanically variable capacitor is used instead ofthe inductor element to store the transient electrical energy. The variable capacitor is fabricated byMEMS micromachining process techniques compatible with CMOS process integration.In this work, we explain the principle and the operation of a step down and a step-up converterusing our novel approach through an energetic analysis, we design a MEMS device optimized withrespect to the voltage conversion application, and we present our converter control method using azero voltage switching technique. An efficiency of almost 88% was obtained by simulation of a 10V-20V converter, when the power management circuitry was considered with discrete elements; thisefficiency is promising and could be improved when the whole system will be integrated on silicon.:

Ces travaux de thèse tentent de répondre à un besoin de surveillance fiable et durable de la concentration d’hydrogène dans un environnement radioactif. Dans ces travaux, nous proposons l’étude et le développement d’un capteur physique d’hydrogène à base de micropoutres résonantes en silicium. La particularité de ce type de capteur vient du fait qu’il ne contient pas de couche sensible et est donc moins sujet au vieillissement que les capteurs chimiques à base de couche sensibles. Compte tenu de la faible masse volumique de l’hydrogène par rapport à celle de l’air et de la bonne sensibilité des micropoutres résonantes aux propriétés physiques du gaz environnant (masse volumique et viscosité), l’utilisation de micropoutres résonantes pour le suivi de la concentration de l’hydrogène dans l’air est tout à fait possible. L’objectif de ces travaux de recherche est l’amélioration de la sensibilité et de la limite de détection de ce type de capteur. Tout d’abord, une étude des méthodes de suivi de faibles variations de la fréquence de résonance a été effectuée. Ceci a permis de déterminer la méthode ayant le meilleur rapport signal sur bruit, permettant ainsi d’améliorer la limite de détection en termes de variation de fréquence de résonance. Dans une seconde partie, une étude de l’influence de la géométrie et des dimensions sur la sensibilité vis-à-vis des variations de la masse volumique du gaz environnant a été réalisée. A l’issu de cette étude, des critères géométriques et dimensionnels permettant l’optimisation de la sensibilité ont été dégagés. D’autres aspects visant à améliorer les performances (sensibilité et limite de détection) de ces capteurs ont été étudiés, comme l’influence du courant d’actionnement et des tensions de polarisation (actionnement électromagnétique et détection piézorésistive) et l’utilisation des modes supérieurs de résonance. Par ailleurs, l’étude de l’influence des paramètres environnementaux (température et pression) sur le comportement des micropoutres résonantes a été établie. / These PhD research tries to meet a need for a reliable and a sustainable hydrogen concentration monitoring in a radioactive environment. In this work, we propose the study and development of resonant silicon microcantilever-based physical hydrogen sensors. The special feature of this sensor is that it does not contain any sensitive and consequently the reliability is improved, compared to devices with sensitive coating. In view of the low density of hydrogen compared to that of air, and the good sensitivity of a resonant microcantilever to the physical properties of the surrounding gas (density and viscosity), the use of vibrating uncoated microcantilever for monitoring hydrogen concentration in air is therefore possible. The objective of this research is to improve the sensitivity and the limit of detection of such sensors. First of all, a study of methods for monitoring small changes in resonant frequency has been conducted in order to determine the method having the best signal to noise ratio, thus, allowing improvement of its resolution in terms of resonant frequency variation measurement. In a second part, a study of the influence of microcantilever geometries and dimensions on their sensitivity to the gas density variation has been performed. As a result, geometrical and dimensional criteria for optimizing the sensitivity to the gas density have been identified. Other factors in a view of improving performance (sensitivity and detection limit) of vibrating microbeams have been studied, such as the influence of the actuating current and bias voltages (electromagnetic actuation and piezoresistive detection) and using high resonant modes. Furthermore, the study of the influence of environmental parameters (temperature and pressure) on the sensors behavior has been established.

Ce travail de thèse porte sur la réalisation de MEMS organiques dans un dispositif original, le microévaporateur, couplant la technique MIMIC (Micromolding in Capillaries) à la pervaporation microfluidique. Il est expliqué comment le phénomène de pervaporation peut être utilisé pour concentrer des solutions polymériques diluées jusqu'à l'obtention de matériaux composites dans des géométries de dimensions typiques 25 μm x 100 μm x 10 mm. Il a été montré qu'il est possible d'établir des modèles décrivant cette croissance en excellent accord avec l'expérience et l'étude de l'influence de différents paramètres (concentration, géométrie...) sur la croissance a alors permis de prédire les vitesses de croissance des matériaux composites. Deux systèmes ont été réalisés à partir de ces derniers, associés à deux effets : l'effet bilame thermique et l'effet piezorésistif mettant en avant une preuve de concept d'une nouvelle voie de fabrication des MEMS organiques : la voie microfluidique. Un dispositif plus complexe comprenant également des vannes microfluidiques a permis de programmer des matériaux à gradients de composition dans la longueur de divers matériaux allant des cristaux colloïdaux aux matériaux polymères. / This work deals with the making of organic MEMS within an original device, the microevaporator, coupling the MIMIC technique (Micromolding in Capillaries) and microfluidic pervaporation. It is shown how the pervaporation phenomenon can be used to concentrate polymeric diluted solutions until we obtain composite materials into geometries with typical dimensions about 25 μm x 100 μm x 10 mm. We showed that it is possible to establish models which describe this growth in excellent agreement with experiments and the study of the influence of different parameters (concentration, geometry...) upon the growth thus allowed us to predict the growth velocities of those composite materials. Two systems have been made associated to two effects : bimetallic strip effect and piezoresistive effect in order to demonstrate a new proof of concept of a new way to make organic MEMS using microfluidics. A more complex device including microfluidic valves allowed us to encode materials with a gradient of composition within their largest dimension from colloidal cristals to polymeric materials.

Ultrasonic sensors are well known for various applications such as NDT, ultrasound imaging, and proximity sensing. Conventional ultrasound transducers are bulky, work at notoriously high voltages, and consume significant power. Microfabrication techniques are leading to a paradigm shift in the field of ultrasonics by enabling development of low power - small footprint ultrasound transducers. This work focuses on the development of piezoelectric type flexural mode micromachined ultrasound transducer also known as PMUTs. We start by establishing a system level analytical model of a PMUT and use it to offer insights into scaling of the performance of the transducer with respect to various design parameters. In this analysis we give special attention to residual stresses thus establishing a contrast between membrane type and plate type PMUTs. After going through various steps of material development and microfabrication, we obtain arrays of PMUTs with different designs. PZT thin films deposited by sol-gel method are used as the piezoelectric layer in the multilayer stack. Further, we present a thorough characterization of fabricated PMUTs which includes measurement of the piezoelectric properties of the embedded PZT thin film, electrical impedance of the electromechanical transducer, its vibrational charac-teristics and acoustic radiation from a single PMUT cell. We also develop a pre-amplifier circuit for a PMUT receiver and present its working as a simple proximity sensor. After establishing the repeatability and predictability of our PMUT sensors we delve into application development beyond ultrasound imaging. Experiments and analysis of PMUTs submerged in water show strong structural-acoustic coupling between the PMUT membrane and the surrounding fluid. We hypothesize the applicability of this feature to sense changes in the acoustic environment of a PMUT. To this end, we integrate an array of PMUTs with a micro-fluidic chip and study the changes in the vibrational behaviour of the PMUT in response to change in the air-water ratio in a closed cell around a PMUT membrane. We also present our preliminary results on presence of micro-bubbles in the closed cell around the PMUT.

Le Titano-Zirconate de Plomb, ou PZT est un matériau piézoélectrique présentant de très bonnes performances pour l'actionnement des microsystèmes. Dans ce travail de thèse, nous nous proposons de répondre à la problématique de l'intégration du PZT par dépôt sol-gel. Dans une première partie, nous présenterons l'état de l'art des MEMS piézoélectriques et du PZT. Dans une seconde partie, nous montrerons comment obtenir des couches minces de PZT orientées (100) et (1111) de façon homogène, pour une des épaisseurs de 100 nm à 2µm. Dans une troisième partie, nous comparerons les propriétés ferroélectriques et piézoélectriques des films, en fonction de l'orientation. Pour l'orientation (100), nous avons pu mesurer un coefficient d31 supérieur à -150 pm/V et un coefficient e31,f de -16 C/m2. Pour l'orientation (111), nous avons mesuré un d31 de -100 pm/V et un e31,f de -14 C/m2. Pour expliquer les différences observées, nous avons également abordé le problème du blocage des parois de domaines. Dans une quatrième partie, nous présentons la fabrication et la caractérisation d'un interrupteur MEMS radiofréquences packagé et stabilisé en température fonctionnant à basse tension. A l'état bloqué, il présente une isolation de -44 dB à 2 GHz. A l'état passant, il présente des pertes d'insertion de -0.74 dB à 2 GHz. Dans cette partie, nous présentons également l'intégration d'une jauge de contraintes dans un actionneur piézoélectrique. Dans la dernière partie, nous présentons l'intégration de nos procédés dans des membranes sans dégradation des performances. Une étude préliminaire de fiabilité est également menée. Le mécanisme conduisant à la dégradation de nos composants est lié au vieillissement du matériau, ce qui montre que notre procédé de dépôt est maitrisé de façon homogène sur des substrats 200 mm. / PZT is a piezoelectric material which exhibits very good performances for microsystems actuation. In this work, the problem of sol-gel deposited PZT integration is discussed. First, state of the art of piezoelectric MEMS and PZT is presented. Then, the fabrication of homogeneous (100) and (111) oriented PZT thin films is presented. Layers thicknesses are comprised between 100 nm and 2 µm. Thirdly, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of the two oriented thin films are compared. For (100) oriented films, the d31 piezoelectric coefficient was greater than -150 pm/V and the e31,f reaches -16 C/m2. For (111) oriented films, the d31 and e31,f reach -100 pm/V and -14 C/m2 respectively. To explain observed differences, domain walls pinning was studied. Next, fabrication and characterization of a low voltage, fully packaged and thermally stabilized RF MEMS piezoelectric switch is presented. At the off-state, the switch isolation is -44 dB at 2 GHz. At the on-state, insertion losses are -0.74 dB at 2 GHz. The integration of a metallic gauge in a piezoelectric cantilever is also presented. Finally, developed processes are integrated in membranes fabrication without any degradation. A preliminary reliability study is presented. The fail mechanism of our components is an aging mechanism. This shows that our sol-gel deposition process is well-controlled on 8 inches wafers.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-15T11:46:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 517535 bytes, checksum: 44009b0bc09a5af772f82b9303aa5e7b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Here we study a class of semilinear elliptic equations with nonlinearity of an inverse square type. This equations arise, in applications, on the modeling of certain electrostatic devices from microtechnology, MEMS - Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. More precisely, these equations characterizes the function that represents the deformation of a deformable capacitor under the influence of an applied voltage. The Mathematical tools used on the study of such problems involve a bit of Nonlinear Analysis and Partial Differential Equations' methods as sub and supersolutions, sign preserving Theorems (Maximum Principle, Boggio's Principle), energy estimates via Sobolev spaces, etc. In a parallel way we wish to emphasize the importance of this investigation, in Mathematics, on helping the understanding on the class of singular problems in Partial Differential Equations. / Estudamos aqui uma classe de equações elípticas semilineares com singularidade do tipo inverso do quadrado. Estas equações aparecem, na modelagem de certos dispositivos eletrostáticos da microtecnologia, MEMS - Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (sistemas microeletromecânicos). Mais precisamente tais equações caracterizam a função que descreve a deformação de um capacitor deformável sob a influência de uma voltagem aplicada. A Matemática necessária ao estudo de tais problemas envolve um bom aparato de métodos da Análise não Linear e das Equações Diferenciais Parciais tais como Método de Sub- e Supersolução, Teoremas de Preservação de Sinal (Princípio do Máximo, Princípio de Boggio), estimativas de Energia via Espaços de Sobolev, entre outros. Em paralelo destacamos a importância desta investigação em Matemática, para entendermos como se comportam as soluções de problemas supercríticos em Equações Diferenciais Parciais.

O presente trabalho propõe o estudo de dispositivos CMUTs fabricados através de métodos e materiais alternativos com potencial aplicação em ensaios não destrutivos. O CMUT é constituído por uma membrana condutiva colocada sobre uma cavidade com o fundo metalizado, formando uma estrutura capacitiva. Ondas acústicas incidentes criam uma vibração na membrana que modifica de forma detectável a capacitância do dispositivo (modo de detecção). De modo inverso, é possível aplicar tensão alternada sobre a estrutura do CMUT fazendo com que a membrana vibre gerando ondas acústicas (modo de emissão). Hoje as principais tecnologias utilizadas para detecção e emissão de ondas acústicas utilizam materiais piezelétricos que são de difícil obtenção, possuem baixa integrabilidade e restrições em aplicações em altas temperaturas. O transdutor proposto baseia-se na tecnologia MEMS onde efeitos elétricos e mecânicos são combinados de forma a atender uma determinada aplicação. Os dispositivos MEMS são fabricados por técnicas de microfabricação, o que diminui o custo de produção e possibilita o uso de diversos tipos de materiais. Antes da fabricação dos CMUTs, foram feitas modelagens analíticas e computacionais visando determinar as dimensões ideais dos dispositivos a serem fabricados e também quais materiais seriam melhores se aplicados como membrana. A partir dos resultados da modelagem foi possível determinar que CMUTs com membrana de cobre fossem fabricados. Com os resultados da modelagem foram propostos métodos de fabricação baseados em técnicas de wafer-bonding. Dois materiais foram utilizados para produzir as cavidades, um deles foi o fotorresiste SU-8 e outro uma resina adesiva de secagem rápida, material este não convencional para produção de CMUTs. No primeiro caso, as cavidades foram abertas por processo de fotolitografia, já no segundo foi utilizado um método de corrosão a laser, também não convencional. Diferentes métodos foram utilizados na colagem das membranas, sendo que membranas coladas com resina adesiva e membranas deixadas suspensas sobre as cavidades apresentaram melhores resultados. As caracterizações elétricas e acústicas realizadas nos dispositivos fabricados mostraram que os CMUTs obtidos possuem características capacitivas e podem emitir e receber, comprovando assim seu funcionamento. Isto indica que os roteiros de fabricação propostos são eficientes e que os materiais e métodos utilizados se mostraram adequados. Além disso, a partir das caracterizações acústicas é possível dizer que os CMUTs fabricados podem ser potencialmente aplicados em ensaios não destrutivos, principalmente em análise de vibrações. / This thesis proposes the study of CMUT devices produced using alternative methods and materials with potential application in non-destructive analysis. CMUT is composed of a metallized substrate covered with an insulator cavity structure and a conductive membrane on its top, forming a capacitive structure. Incident acoustic waves cause vibration in the membrane modifying their capacitance (detection mode). AC voltage can be applied on the structure of the CMUT causing the membrane to vibrate generating acoustic waves (transmission mode). Today the main technologies used for the detection and emission of acoustic waves use piezoelectric materials that are difficult to obtain, have low integrability and restrictions in high temperature applications. The proposed transducer is based on MEMS technology where electrical and mechanical effects are combined to suit a particular application. MEMS devices are manufactured by microfabrication techniques, which reduce the cost of production and allow the use of various types of materials. Before the fabrication of CMUTs, analytical and computational modeling were made to determine the optimal dimensions of the devices to be manufactured and also what materials would be best if applied as membrane. From the modeling results CMUTs with copper membrane were manufactured. Based on the results of the modeling process, manufacturing methods based on wafer-bonding techniques were proposed. Two materials were used to produce the cavities: one of them was the SU-8 photoresist and the other an acrylic adhesive, an unconventional material for the production of CMUTs. In the first case the cavities were opened by the photolithographic process. In the second method the corrosion laser was used, which is also unconventional. Different methods were used to bond the membranes. The membranes bonded with acrylic adhesive and left suspended over the cavity wells showed better results. The electric and acoustic characterizations performed on fabricated devices showed that CMUTs present capacitive characteristics and can emit and receive acoustic waves, thus proving its operation. This indicates that the proposed manufacturing routes are efficient and that the materials and methods used are appropriate. Moreover, these results show that the manufactured CMUTs may be potentially applied to nondestructive analyses, especially in analyses of vibrations.

Le packaging des MEMS-RF est un sujet de recherche qui a été étudié de manière intensive ces dernières années. En effet, la fiabilité des composants micromécaniques est directement dépendante de l’humidité et de la poussière avoisinant la structure. C’est pourquoi la recherche d'un package parfaitement hermétique à très faible coût, sans influence sur les performances RF reste d’actualité, même si un grand nombre de publications et de solutions ont été présentées auparavant. Ces travaux de recherche porte sur la conception, la réalisation et la caractérisation de commutateurs MEMS-RF ohmiques packagés par deux techniques différentes. La première partie de cette thèse a été consacrée d’étudier une encapsulation par film mince. Une couche métallique d’or électrolysée est utilisée pour former le capot, ensuite le nitrure de silicium est utilisé pour sceller le capot. Cette technique a présenté plusieurs avantages où nous obtenons une petite taille, l’augmentation du nombre de composants par substrat tout en réduisant le cout de fabrication. Malgré tous ces avantages, cette technique engendre aux composants des faibles effets parasites sur leurs performances RF. La deuxième technique qui a été étudié dans ce travail, est l’encapsulation par collage de tranche. Le principe de cette encapsulation est de sceller un substrat de capots micro-usinés en silicium avec un substrat contenant les composants MEMS-RF. Ensuite, une découpe de deux substrats est nécessaire pour obtenir les commutateurs MEMS-RF encapsulés. Le scellement utilisé durant cette thèse était le glass frit qui garantit une très bonne herméticité. Des mesures d’herméticité sont faites par le cnes montrent que les commutateurs mems-rf sont encapsulés hermétiquement en indiquant un taux de fuite de 8.8e-12 atm.cc/s. Les performances RF du commutateur MEMS-RF sont déjà présentées et qui montrent que cette technique d’encapsulation ne présente aucune influence sur ces performances. / RF MEMS packaging is an important research topic that is intensively studied for years. Indeed, Micro-mechanical devices that are protected from humidity, dust and working in a clean controlled atmosphere consequently improve their reliability. Meanwhile, the search for a perfectly hermetic package at very low cost with no influence on the RF performances is still a challenge even if a lot of publications and solutions have been presented so far. This research focuses on the design, realization and characterization of encapsulated RF MEMS switches using two different techniques. The first part of this thesis has been to study a Wafer Level Thin Film Packaging (WLTFP) using a metallic cap, then we have utilize the silicon nitride to seal this cap. This encapsulation technique presents several advantages where we have extremely small volume cavity, no double-wafer alignment required, and substantial increase in the number of devices per wafer reducing cost. Despite all these advantages, this technique generates to the components a low parasitic effects on their RF performances. Another type of packaging has been studied during this thesis is Wafer to Wafer Packaging. The principle of this encapsulation is to seal a micro-machined wafer of caps on the wafer containing RF MEMS switches to be protected. The both wafers are then cut together and we obtain directly the packaged switches. The RF MEMS packaging using this technique permits to obtain a hermetic package (leak rate of 8.8e-12 atm.cc/s measured by the French Space Agency-CNES) with no influence on the device characteristics. The RF characterization of the switch having a silicon cap bonded using a dielectric sealing paste have shown that the insertion loss in the ON state and the isolation in the OFF state is practically the same before and after capping.

Les travaux de thèse concernent le design optique et le développement d’un microscope confocal miniature MEMS intégré verticalement. Différentes architectures optiques ont été proposées afin de combiner un design optique optimal aux nombreuses contraintes technologiques liées à la fabrication collective des différents blocs élémentaires du microscope sur puce. Ceux-ci, réalisés avec des technologies hybrides, sont encapsulés par assemblage vertical de wafers utilisant les technologies de soudure ≪multi-wafer≫, et permettent la construction d’un microsystème complet d’instrumentation. Un accent particulier a été émis sur la minimisation des aberrations optiques générées par les différents composants micro optiques pour permettre une résolution de mesure élevée. Pour satisfaire ces besoins, différentes briques élémentaires ont été développées : un cube semi-transparent micro-fabriqué, différentes microlentilles réfractives basées sur le micro moulage silicium et un micro-objectif réflecteur. Un montage expérimental de caractérisation dédié à l’ évaluation de la qualité de ces micro composants a également été proposé. De plus, les différents procédés de micro-usinage silicium (gravure humide anisotrope et isotrope, gravure sèche isotrope du silicium) pour la génération de micro-miroirs et de microlentilles ont été comparés. Enfin, les procédures d’assemblage vertical, incluant toutes les technologies d’interconnexion électrique ont été développées. Le travail de thèse a été réalisée dans le cadre du projet DWST-DIS ( The Development of Multi Wafer Stacking 3D Technology for Displays and Imaging MicroSystems), programme financé par le programme Inter Carnot Fraunhofer (PICF) - un projet ANR entre FEMTO-STet l’institut Fraunhofer ENAS. / The thesis manuscript concerns optical design and development of a vertically integrated MEMSbasedconfocal microscope. Different optical architectures have been proposed that aim to combineoptimal optical design and the numerous technological constraints linked to the batch fabricationof the different building blocks. The latter, made by hybrid technologies, and packaged byvertical assembly using multi- wafer bonding, allow the construction of a complete microsystem forinstrumentation. Special emphasis is placed on the minimization of optical aberrations generatedby the different microoptical components to ensure good resolution of measurement. For thesepurposes, different building blocks have been developed, namely a batch-fabricated cube-typedbeamsplitter, different silicon moulded refractive microlenses and a miniature reflective objective.Dedicated characterization system for quality assessment of the fabricated micro-components wasalso developed. Moreover, different processes of silicon-based micromachining for generation ofmicromirrors and microlenses (wet anisotropic and isotropic etch, dry isotropic etch of silicon) havebeen compared. Finally, procedures of vertical assembly including all electrical interconnectiontechnologies have been developed. The thesis work was performed in the frame of the DWST-DIS(The Development of Multi Wafer Stacking 3D Technology for Displays and Imaging MicroSystems)project funded by the Programme Inter Carnot Fraunhofer (PICF) – an ANR project between FEMTO-STand ENAS - Fraunhofer Institute.