Tronics SOI- H.A.R.M. technology introduction

Tronics Microsystems, a manufacturer of highly differentiated, high value-add custom MEMS components and microsystems and leader for MEMS on SOI proposes one of its SOI technologies on a MPW service. The MEMSOI MPW service provides access to Tronics 60µm thick SOI High Aspect Ratio Micromachining (SOI-H.A.R.M.). The technology was developed to manufacture high performance custom inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyros). It is briefly presented in the following cross section.

Use of MEMSOI service and technology

The MEMSOI MPW service is aimed at creating, characterizing and evaluating test structures prior to further specific development and production projects. MEMSOI is suitable for :   

• Capacitive sensors (accelerometers, gyros, force sensors)    
• Electrostatic actuators (electrical or optical actuators, grippers, …)    
• Resonating sensors and resonators   
• Energy scavengers   
• Precision micromechanical structures and microfluidic structures like channels and filters
  

Example of structures produced on TRONICS SOI-HARM technology

The MEMSOI MPW service is aimed at creating, characterizing and evaluating test structures prior to further specific development and production projects. MEMSOI is suitable for   

Summary of MEMSOI main design rules for the active structure

   

MPW service

Principle

Tronics’ 60µm SOI-H.A.R.M. technology is proposed on MEMSOI, a Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) service as part of the Europractice IC Service. By gathering the designs of multiple customers on the same masks set, MPWs allow to fabricate test structures and prototypes of devices at a very low cost. Customers can subscribe to one or more locations. For each location the customer receives 20 dies.  

Die characteristics

In every run, customers can book one or several locations, each being of 8mm x 7mm in size. Each die is packaged at the wafer level with a silicon cap. Designers can place in the cap up to 24 pads or open connections to the active silicon structure. The dies are then mountable with wire bonding on any standard housing or board as shown in the following picture (service not provided).

Typical shape of the MPW chip and example of mounting of a die by wire bonding.