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SiC MEMS devices

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Silicon Carbide Microsystems for Harsh Environments

Part of the book series: MEMS Reference Shelf ((MEMSRS,volume 22))

Abstract

Silicon carbide microelectromechanical device development is currently a very active area of research with a primary focus on increasing the robustness of traditional silicon MEMS. Silicon MEMS has developed to a level of maturity in which several commercial ventures are deploying silicon technology into automotive and consumer electronics markets. A large knowledge base has developed into surfaceand bulk-micromachined sensor types. This design expertise is being directly applied to sensor technology for harsh environment applications using SiC. This is accomplished because etch mask materials and etching techniques have already been developed that can be tailored to produce selective etching of SiC. These techniques can be linked together in a very similar fashion to silicon microfabrication, whether it be for surface- or bulk-micromachining of MEMS structures. This allows rapid development of SiC devices because the manufacturing concepts and design methodology can be readily applied. Hence, a large number of SiC MEMS sensor types have already been explored.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Automation & Robotics Research Institute, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA

    Muthu B. J. Wijesundara

  2. Proteus Biomedical Inc., Redwood City, California, USA

    Robert G. Azevedo

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  1. Muthu B. J. Wijesundara
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  2. Robert G. Azevedo
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Correspondence to Muthu B. J. Wijesundara .

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Wijesundara, M.B.J., Azevedo, R.G. (2011). SiC MEMS devices. In: Silicon Carbide Microsystems for Harsh Environments. MEMS Reference Shelf, vol 22. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7121-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7121-0_4

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