Fabrication of Multi-stepped Three Dimensional Silicon Microstructure for INS Grade Servo Accelerometer

관성 항법 장치급 서보 가속도계용 다단차 3차원 실리콘 미세 구조물 제작

New fabrication technique was developed to make three dimensional silicon microstructure with five fold vertical steps through entire wafer thickness. Each step is pre-defined on multiply stacked thermal oxide and silicon nitride (O/N) layers by photolithographies. Multi-stepped silicon microstructure is formed by anisotropic etch in aqueous KOH solution with the patterned nitride film as masking layer. Fabricated microstructure consists of four $16{\mu}m$ thick flexural spring beams, $290{\mu}m$ thick proof mass, mesas for overrange stop with $10{\mu}m$ height from the surface of the proof mass, and the other mesas and V grooves used for assembling this structure to the packaging frame of pendulous servo accelerometer. Using the numerical finite element method (FEM) simulator: ABAQUS, mechanical characteristics of the fabricated microstructure by the developed technique was compared with those of the same structure processed by one step silicon bulk etch followed by oxidation and patterning the etched region.