Title: A review of silicon carbide development in MEMS applications

Authors: Liudi Jiang, Rebecca Cheung

Addresses: School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. ' School of Engineering and Electronics, Scottish Microelectronics Centre, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JF, UK

Abstract: Due to its desirable material properties, Silicon Carbide (SiC) has become an alternative material to replace Si for Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) applications in harsh environments. To promote SiC MEMS development towards future cost-effective products, main technology areas in material deposition and processes have attracted significant interest. The developments in these areas have contributed to the rapid emergence of SiC MEMS prototypes. In this paper, we give an overview of the important developments in SiC material formation and fabrication processes in recent years. Some of the most interesting state-of-the-art SiC MEMS devices are reviewed. This highlights the major progresses in SiC MEMS developed thus far. This paper also looks into the prospect of SiC MEMS drawing attention to potential issues.

Keywords: SiC MEMS; silicon carbide; MEMS devices; microelectromechanical systems; review; material deposition; fabrication.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCMSSE.2009.027484

International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Surface Engineering, 2009 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.227 - 242

Published online: 28 Jul 2009 *

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