An SOI-based post-fabrication process for compliant MEMS devices

Fabricating compliant microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices is challenging because they are easily damaged during fabrication. This paper presents a fabrication process based on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer for compliant MEMS devices. In the fabrication process, tethers were used to enhance the strength of the compliant devices during fabrication and finally melted with an electric current to release the device after fabrication. We discover that the power supply mode and voltage value are very critical for low-resistance tether melting. The fabrication results show that the yield rate of the compliant microgripper increased from 44% to 100%, which is a significant improvement compared with conventional processes. The successful fabrication of the microgripper proved that the proposed SOI-based post-fabrication process is feasible and can be used to fabricate different kinds of compliant devices.