CAREER: MEMS Post-Packaging by Localized Heating

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9734421 Lin The objective of this CAREER development plan is for the applicant to become an excellent teacher and researcher in the area of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) with initial research efforts in MEMS post-packaging by localized heating. Elements of this plan include: 1. to develop MEMS post-packaging process with innovative approach of localized heating. 2. to develop MEMS educational cuff iculum with innovative student mentoring and outreach. Research Plan: MEMS has been recognized as one of the next generation technologies that are of critical importance to the economy and competitiveness of the US. MEMS has emerged from IC (Integrated Circuit) technologies, where up to 95% of the manufacturing cost may come from the packaging process. MEMS packaging is more difficult than the IC packaging due to its unconventional natural of "micro mechanical structures" which complicates the packaging issue. It is desired to develop a versatile MEMS post-packaging process that can overcome the rigorous packaging requirements of wafer-level process, low temperature, hermetic sealing and rong-term stability. The objectives of this research are: (1) to develop a versatile MEMS post-packaging process for pre-fabricated MEMS wafers. (2) to develop an innovative approach of localized heating to be used in the proposed MEMS post-packaging process All of the current MEMS packaging processes are case sensitive. They either require high temperature for bonding such as fusion, anodic or eutectic bonding or they use low temperature process with non-hermetic grade bonding materials such as epoxy. Localized heating provides a new approach to solve the bonding problem. Since high temperature can be locally generated, hermetic and strong bonding can be achieved. At the same time, the temperature outside the bonding area can be kept low. Therefore, new bonding materials, better, faster and stronger bonding mechanisms may be explored by using the localized heating scheme. In order to ch aracterize the optimal bonding conditions, theoretical and numerical analysis with experiments on electro-thermal characteristics, bonding mechanisms and micro fabrication processes will be investigated. The micropackaged sensors will be gone through accelerated tests and monitored to determine long-term stability. The optimized MEMS post-packaging process can be directly applicable for MEMS industry. Educational Plan: The CAREER educational plan includes three major parts: 1. New courses: Two new MEMS courses will be developed to strengthen the MEMS education at the University of Michigan and to integrate with the existing curriculum. The first course is Introduction to MEMS for senior/graduate students and it focuses on basic micromachining technologies including design, simulation and manufacturing of MEMS. The second course is Advanced MEMS for graduate students and it emphasizes on MEMS handson experiences including microfabrication processes and MEMS testing. A complete MEMS educational curriculum for students majoring in Mechanical Engineering ftom fteshman to Ph.D. has been proposed in this CAREER Program. 2. Innovative mentoring and outreach: Six programs will be carried out at the University of Michigan for innovative student mentoring and outreach including "MEMS focused study group"; "MEMS Summer Camp"; "Industrial Internship"; "Student Exchanging Program"; "Unde?Wraduate MEMS Design Projects" and "Joint research projects". 3. Laboratory development: A research/teaching laboratory will be established under the CAREER program at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. This laboratory is to complement the existing facilities at the Solid-State laboratory and will emphasize on the micro-electro-mechanical testing (MEMT) with initial efforts on MEMS post-packaging by localized heating. ***