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1. INTRODUCTION
 A micro- system is an intelligent miniaturized system comprising
sensing, processing and/or actuating functions.
 Micro engineering refers to the technologies and practice of making
three dimensional structures and devices with dimensions in the
order of micrometers.
 Micromachining is the basic technology used for the production of
miniaturized parts and components. Micromachining resulted in
the fabrication of a broad class of devices whose defining
characteristics were micrometer-scale feature size and
electromechanical functionality, and these systems are collectively
called as MEMS (MICRO-ELECTRO –MECHANICAL-SYSTEMS).

1.1 MICROMANUFACTURING

Micro manufacturing is the set of design and fabrication tools that

precisely machine and form structures and elements at a scale below the
limits of our human perceptive faculties.

The methods commonly used for the fabrication of micro elements are
almost as varied as their applications, but generally fall within two
distinct categories:

Bulk micromachining.
Surface micromachining.
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2. BULK MICROMACHINING

 Bulk micromachining is a subtractive process, the term is applied

to a variety of etching procedures, where the required structures
are developed using the etching agents that selectively remove
material.
 Etching produces concave, pyramidal or other faceted holes,
depending on which face of the crystal is exposed to the chemicals.
 This technique has come to be known as bulk micromachining
because the chemical that pits deeply into the silicon produces
structures that use the entire mass of the chip.

Isotropic wet Etching

Most commonly used isotropic etching agents for Silicon are:

Etches dope extrinsic regions i.e. n+ and p+, more than intrinsic regions.
In etching prior to the expose of substrate to the etching agent, a mask is
used which is placed over the substrate material to obtain proper etched
regions.

Most commonly used masks against this isotropic etch are:

Nitrides (Si3N4)

Noble metals

SiO2 (if HF ratio is low and for short etches)

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Anisotropic Wet Etching

In this type of etching, the etching rate is orientation dependent in the
crystal.

A. Inorganic alkaline solutions (KOH, LiOH, NaOH)

B. Organic alkaline solutions: (Ethylene diamine, pyrocatechol and

water: EDP)

A completely anisotropic etchant will etch in one direction only. An

isotropic etchant will etch in all directions at the same rate.

2.1 LIMITATIONS OF BULK MICROMACHINING

 Bulk Micromachining has the disadvantage that it uses alkaline

chemicals, foreign to conventional chip process.
 Consequently, fabricating multiple, interconnected
micromechanical structures of free-form geometry is often difficult
or impossible.
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3. SURFACE MICROMACHINING

It is called surface micromachining because it deposits a film of silicon a

few microns thick, from which beams and other edifices can be built

 Surface micromachining relies on encasing the structural parts of

the device in layers of a sacrificial material during the fabrication
process.
 The sacrificial material (also called spacer material) is then
dissolved away in a chemical etchant that does not attack the
structural parts.
 The final stage of dissolving the sacrificial layer is called "release".
In other words, there are two primary components in a surface
micromachining process:

Structural layers -- of which the final microstructures are made;

Sacrificial layers -- which separate the structural layers and are

dissolved in the final stage of device fabrication.

Surface micromachining involves depositing, removing, and patterning

thin films on a substrate.

3.1 LIMITATIONS OF SURFACE MICROMACHINING

 Indeed, surface micromachining has an important limitation. It is
inherently a planar fabrication process, and is, therefore, limiting
for mechanical design.
 Hence, surface micromachining produces planar structures (i.e.,
low aspect ratio devices) with little in the way of Z topology
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4. LIGA (LITHOGRAPHIE, GALVANOFORMUNG,

ABFORMUNG)

A technique that allows overcoming the two-dimensionality of surface

micromachining is the LIGA process. The technology was developed in
Germany

It is the acronym for Lithographie (lithography), Galvanoformung

(electroplating), Abformung (molding). It displaces the achievable height
of the microstructure from few to hundreds microns and like bulk and
surface micromachining relies on lithographic patterning.

Lithography is the technique by which the pattern on a mask is

transferred to a film or substrate surface via a radiation-sensitive
material. The radiation may be optical, x-ray, electron beam, or ion beam

Pattern generation begins with mask design and layout using computer-
aided design (CAD) software, from which a mask set is manufactured. A
typical mask consists of a glass plate coated with a patterned chromium
(Cr) film.

Metal is then plated into the structure; This metal piece can become the
final part or can be used as an injection mold.

Injection molding of microscopic parts can be carried out with a process.

The process can be used for the manufacture of high-aspect-ratio
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5. LASER MICROMACHINING

Over many years such processes have become well established as

production techniques with improvements limited mostly to
enhancements in laser drive technology rather than changes to the basic
mask projection, beam handling and motion control techniques.

Pulsed laser micromachining techniques using mask projection methods

are now widely used for the creation of miniature structures in both
massive and thin substrates.

5.1 SYNCHRONISED IMAGE SCANNING (SIS)

In SIS the substrate moves continuously during pulsed laser triggering

such that, simultaneously with each laser pulse,

The image projected onto the substrate has moved by exactly one pitch

FIG 5.1.1
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5.2 BOW TIE SCANNING

The laser scans in a straight line at high speeds across a section of the
substrate by a galvanometer-driven mirror deflection,

While the substrate is moved on a linear stage at constant speed in the

orthogonal direction.

After each transverse scan the galvanometer mirror decelerates, reverses

and performs a scan in the opposite direction

FIG 5.2.1
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5.3 MASK PROJECTION TECHNIQUES (MPT)

FIG 5.3.1
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6. THE FUTURE- TRANSITION FROM MICROMACHINING

TO NANOMACHINING

 Nano is the buzzword of the moment, which demands refinement

in micromachining resulting in evolution of nanomachining.
 Thus the transition from Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems
(MEMS) to Nano-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (NEMS) will take
place.
 The smallest features that have been fabricated using lithography
are only a few tenths of a nanometer in dimension.
 Nanomachining has been used by a number of groups to fabricate
quantum devices such as single-electron transistors (SETs) and
metal-oxide junctions.
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7. CONCLUSION

Micro engineering not only provides a new manufacturing route for

existing products, but also, importantly, allows the creation of completely
new products and new markets providing large volumes of low cost
sensors to the automotive industry, and low volume high performance,
small and light weight sensors to aerospace and defense.

The predominant technology at present state is surface micromachining,

and current developments show that this trend will continue in the
future. However the LIGA process will grow in importance, as it is the
only method for producing true three-dimensional objects..
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8. REFERENCES:

Micron Machinations”, G.Stix, Scientific American, Vol.267, November

1992.

“Engineering Microscopic Machines”, K.J Gabriel, Scientific American,

Vol.273, September 1995

“International Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems”, Feb

1996.

“Laser Processing in Manufacturing”, Crafer, R.C. and Oakley,

(Chapman and Hall).

“Production of novel 3D microstructures using excimer laser mask

projection techniques”, N.H.Rizvi.

“Excimer lasers: Principles of operation and equipment”, M.C.Gower.

“An introduction to Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System Engineering”,

K.Hjort, G.Thornell, R.Spohr, J.A.Schweitz.