WO2002076881A1

WO2002076881A1 - Method for making a structure with micromachined membrane

Info

Publication number: WO2002076881A1
Application number: PCT/FR2002/001040
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hubert Grange; Bernard Aspar; Michel Borel; Marc Zussy
Original assignee: Commissariat A L'energie Atomique
Priority date: 2001-03-28
Filing date: 2002-03-26
Publication date: 2002-10-03
Also published as: FR2822817B1; FR2822817A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for producing a structure with micromachined membrane, the membrane being obtained by forming a recess produced from one of the main surfaces of a first substrate, comprising the following successive steps: fixing one of the main surfaces of the first substrate on a second substrate; producing the recess from the other main surface of the first substrate; fixing the recessed surface of the first substrate on a surface of a third substrate to obtain a cavity comprising said recess. The invention is useful for producing pressure sensors.

Description

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A MEMBRANE STRUCTURE

MICRO-BILLET

DESCRIPTION

Technical area

The subject of the invention is a method of manufacturing a micromachined membrane structure. It relates in particular to the manufacture of a pressure sensor.

Some devices require the presence of a membrane structure. Sensors ^"pressure equipped with a membrane structure can be used to measure high pressures (greater than ^'1000 bar) ^present' for example in oil wells and in the combustion chambers of internal combustion engines (petrol or diesel).

State of the art

The document OA-97/32190 describes a _sensor-to pressure, especially for very high pressures. 'This sensor has a tubular measuring element, consisting of two half-tubes sealed to each other. The cavity thus formed can be closed, containing a reference gas or being empty, or connected to an external reference pressure. The wall of the measuring element can deform under the effect of external pressure. The deformation of the wall is then measurable by piezoresistive gauges arranged on the wall and which transmit an electrical signal proportional to the pressure applied.

Such a sensor can measure pressures between 0 and 1500 bar, for a wide temperature range, from -55 ° C to + 200 ° C.

The deformation of the wall must be large enough to obtain a significant electrical signal from the pressure applied. The wall must therefore be as thin as possible without being too fragile in order to avoid mechanical rupture of the sensor. For a silicon sensor, the starting substrates intended to form the two half-tubes have a thickness of approximately 280 μm before the production of recesses intended to form the cavity. Such a thickness is not a standard thickness. Indeed, standard silicon wafers have thicknesses of 425 or 525 μm.

The use of thin substrates also makes it possible to produce a larger number of sensors per silicon wafer. Equivalent sensitivity sensors made from; thick substrates, i.e. from standard thickness wafers, would have larger areas and a wafer would provide a smaller number. Indeed, in the technological sector used for the machining of silicon, the drawing rules are imposed by the wet etching of the silicon which is done according to angles of attack defined by its crystalline orientation. Wet etching or chemical imposes a widening of the recesses as a function of the thickness to be etched.

The sensor can be produced from a solid silicon substrate and an SOI substrate, the thin layer of silicon of the SOI substrate serving to produce the piezoresistive gauges. For reasons of symmetry, the two sealed parts of the sensor advantageously have the same thickness.

A first part of the sensor can be produced by thinning a massive silicon substrate 425 μm thick. This thinning can be done by a chemical mechanical process, simultaneously on both sides. The symmetrical thickness reduction does not pose any particular problem and the chamfers do not exhibit any defect. This method of thinning, with a very good final surface condition, is offered by the suppliers of wafers. The good quality of the thinned substrates up to 280 μm allows an easy subsequent treatment with wet micromachining and sealing to the SOI substrate without cleavage. However, it is difficult to treat massive substrates of thickness less than 280 μm (very _^ fragile) even if ^' flawless chamfers could be produced there.

The SOI substrate, intended to form the second part of the sensor, must be thinned by its rear face, for example by rectification. The front face of this substrate, on which the gauges will be made, must be protected and maintained during the thinning of the substrate. The maintenance can be done by suction and must be ensured in a uniform way so as not to cloud the substrate and to avoid flatness defects. Substrates thinned by this process are often chipped and therefore very fragile. They can break during wet etching and even after sealing to the thinned solid substrate. Cleavages can occur during centrifugation or manipulation steps. To remedy this problem, the SOI substrate can be chamfered, but this requires special equipment which is difficult to use or which cannot be used on very thin substrates.

As a result, the thinning of SOI substrates of standard thickness and their micromachining according to the state of the art are very delicate operations and which involve a lot of waste.

Statement of the invention

The invention overcomes the drawbacks mentioned above.

It relates to a process for producing a micromachined membrane structure, the membrane; resulting from the formation of a recess produced from one of the main faces of a first substrate, characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps: a) fixing one of the main faces of the first substrate on a second substrate, b) making the recess from the other main face of the first substrate, c) fixing the recessed face of the first substrate to a face of a third substrate to obtain a cavity comprising said recess.

The succession of steps in the order indicated is essential for the invention. In fact, the fixing of the first substrate to the second substrate before the recess of the first substrate is essential since it is this fixing which makes it possible to strengthen the first substrate in order to avoid any problem of breakage or embrittlement linked to the formation of 1 recess

(problem of the prior art). Thus, in the case of the invention, there is no longer any constraint on the thickness of the first substrate and therefore of the cavity. ^"

In step a), the first substrate can be attached to the second substrate by molecular adhesion or by bonding.

In step b), the recess can be produced by wet etching and / or by dry etching.

In step c), the first substrate can be attached to the third substrate by molecular adhesion or by bonding.

For step c), the recessed face of the _first-, substrate may be attached to a face of the third substrate that is secured to a support, the support being removed after step c). The third substrate may be integral with a thin surface layer of the support, this thin surface layer being delimited by a buried fragile layer allowing subsequent separation. This fragile layer can for example comprise microcavities produced by implantation of hydrogen and / or rare gases, the support being eliminated after step c) by cleavage according to the layer of microcavities and recovered. This cleavage can be consecutive to a heat treatment and / or to the application of mechanical forces. For step c), the hollowed out face of the first substrate can be fixed on a hollowed out face of a third substrate, the cavity being formed by the meeting of the recesses of the first and third substrates. The third substrate can be hollowed out by wet etching or by dry etching.

After step c), the second substrate can be thinned.

In step a), the first substrate can be fixed on the side of an active layer presented by the second substrate, the active layer being a layer allowing the production of electronic components. After step c), the method can also comprise the production of at least one strain gauge in the active layer. If the second substrate is a substrate

SOI, in step a) the first substrate can be fixed on the thin layer of silicon of the SOI substrate. In ^'this case, the face of the first substrate set on the second substrate may be an electrically insulating side. The first substrate can be a silicon substrate covered with a layer of silicon dioxide. After step c) the second substrate can be thinned to keep only the thin layer of silicon on the first substrate. The second substrate can be thinned using at least one of the following methods: etching, mechanical thinning, thinning mechanical-chemical and cleavage according to a buried fragile layer which allows separation, for example a layer containing microcavities created in the second substrate by ion implantation. This cleavage can be consecutive to a heat treatment and / or to the application of mechanical forces.

If the first substrate is a silicon substrate covered with at least one layer of silicon dioxide and if the second substrate is a silicon substrate in which a thin surface layer is delimited by a buried fragile layer allowing subsequent separation, this layer may for example contain microcavities produced by implantation of gaseous species preferably chosen from hydrogen and / or rare gases (cf. US 5,374,564, US 6,020,252 and FR-A-2,773,261), after step c) the second substrate can be thinned by cleavage according to the layer of microcavities and be recovered. The cleavage can be consecutive to a heat treatment and / or to the application of mechanical forces.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will be better understood and other advantages and particularities will appear on reading the description which follows, given by way of nonlimiting example, accompanied by the appended drawings among which: - FIGS. 1A to IF are views in cross section illustrating a first example of production of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention,

FIGS. 2A to 2C are cross-section views illustrating a second embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention,

FIGS. 3A to 3C are cross-section views illustrating a third embodiment of a structure with a micromachined membrane according to the invention,

- Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a fourth embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention, - Figures 5A to 5E are cross-sectional views illustrating a fifth embodiment of d '' a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention,

FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross-section views illustrating a sixth embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention,

- Figures 7A to 7E are cross-sectional views illustrating a seventh embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention.

Detailed description of embodiments of the invention FIGS. 1A to IF represent a first exemplary embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention.

FIG. 1A shows a first substrate consisting of a polished silicon plate 2 double-sided and covered with a layer 3 of silicon dioxide. The silicon plate 2 can be of standard thickness

(425 μm) or not (for example 280 μm). The layer 3 of silicon dioxide can be 400 nm thick and can be obtained thermally. Other training methods are of course possible: PECVD, TEOS, sputtering, etc.

FIG. 1B shows a second substrate 4. It is a substrate containing a thin surface film allowing the production of a sensor or a component, it is for example an SOI substrate constituted by a silicon support 5 successively covered with a layer of silicon dioxide 6 and a thin layer of silicon 7. The substrate 4 can be of standard thickness (425 μm) or not. The thin layer 7 can be 200 nm thick.

FIG. 1C shows the structure resulting from the sealing of the two substrates 1 and 4 to each other according to the thin layer 7. The sealing can be done by various methods known to those skilled in the art, for example by molecular adhesion. Optionally, the structure obtained can be thinned. Thinning can be done on the two free faces of the structure or on one of these two faces. Thinning can be followed by polishing to obtain a good surface condition. The first substrate 1 is then micromachined from its free face. FIG. 1D shows a recess 8 produced from the free face of the substrate 1. The recess is obtained by wet etching in baths containing KOH or TMAH, which leads to etching angles such as those shown.

Figure 1 E shows the addition to the previously obtained structure of a silicon substrate 9 which adapts to the structure. The substrate 9 has, from the face adjacent to the substrate 1, a recess 10 which, in this exemplary embodiment, is identical to the recess 8 of the substrate 1. Depending on the applications of the structure which will ultimately be obtained, the 'recess can have a shape different from 1' recess 8. The combination of recesses 8 and 10 provides a closed cavity. The connection between the substrates 1 and 9 can be made by molecular adhesion or by adhesive joint. In the case of molecular adhesion, preferably, a hydrophilic type of cleaning is carried out on the assembled structure.

The next step is to remove the support 5 and the oxide layer 6 from the substrate 1 to reveal the thin layer of silicon 7. The silicon support 5 is first completely etched. Then, the oxide layer 6 is in turn completely etched. There is therefore transfer of the active layer 7 from the SOI substrate to the first substrate 2 as shown in Figure IF. The structure finally obtained is in the form of a mass of silicon provided with a internal cavity (which can optionally be connected to the outside) and the upper part of which is SOI type.

FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate a second embodiment of a structure with a micromachined membrane according to the invention.

This embodiment applies to the case where the substrate 9 is a very thin substrate (of thickness less than 280 μm in the case of silicon) or weakened by micro-machining. This substrate is then associated with a support.

FIG. 2A shows this association: the substrate 9 is sealed on a support 11 made of silicon. Once the seal has been obtained, the recess 10 can be made.

The support 11 can be removed just after the recess has been made and the substrate 9 can be sealed on the substrate 1 as shown in FIG. 1E. The rest of the process then takes place as for the first exemplary embodiment. The support 11 can also be stored at this stage of the process since, being made of silicon, it may _'without undergoing steps problem involving high temperatures, for example for the formation of strain gauges in the active layer. Thus, FIG. 2B shows the fixing of the substrate 9 - support 11 assembly on the substrate 1.

As in the first embodiment, the active layer 7 is then revealed. This is shown in Figure 2C. The support 11 can then be partially or totally eliminated. This elimination can be carried out mechanically, mechanochemically, chemically, using an ion implantation according to the technique disclosed in document FR-A-2 681 472.

(corresponding to US Patent 5,374,564) with annealing at around 500 ° C or application of mechanical forces.

In the case of total elimination, the structure finally obtained is similar to that of FIG. IF.

Figures 3A to 3C illustrate a third embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention.

For this third embodiment, the first steps of the method are identical to the steps of the first embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 1A to 1C. They will therefore not be described. After a possible thinning of the substrates sealed to one another or of one of these substrates, the process continues with the production of a recess.

FIG. 3A shows the association of a first substrate 21 and an SOI substrate 24. Le; substrate 21 consists of a silicon plate 22 covered with a layer 23 of silicon dioxide. The substrate 24 consists of a silicon support 25 successively covered with a layer of silicon dioxide 26 and a thin layer of silicon 27. Unlike the previous embodiments, the recess 28 formed in the substrate 21 is produced by dry etching, which makes it possible to obtain vertical walls for the recess. FIG. 3B shows the addition to the previously obtained structure of a silicon substrate 29 which adapts to the structure. The substrate 29 has, from the face adjacent to the substrate 21, a recess 30 which, in this embodiment, is identical to the recess 28 of the substrate 21. In this case also, the recesses 28 and 30 can be of different shapes.

As a variant, FIG. 3C shows the addition to the structure shown in FIG. 3A of a substrate 39 devoid of a recess. The cavity is then simply formed by the recess 28.

The structures represented in FIGS. 3B or 3C are then treated in the manner described for the first example of embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a fourth exemplary embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention. This is the case where the first substrate 41 is a simple silicon plate, the second substrate 44 and also a silicon plate

(instead of an SOI substrate as before) and the third substrate 49 is also a plate of ', silicon. The cavity consists only of a recess 48 produced in the first substrate 41. FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 1E in the course of the process. Subsequently, the substrates 44 and 49 can optionally be thinned by one or other of the methods already mentioned.

Figures 5A to 5E illustrate a fifth embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention. The first substrate 51 is identical to that shown in FIG. 1A. It consists of a polished silicon plate 52 double-sided and covered with a layer 53 of silicon dioxide (see FIG. 5B).

FIG. 5A shows a second substrate 54. It is an SOI substrate consisting of a silicon support 55 successively covered with a layer of silicon dioxide 56 and a thin layer of silicon 57. The substrate 54 maybe of standard thickness (425μm) or not. The thin layer 57 can be 200 nm thick. The substrate 54 has undergone, through the thin layer 57, an implantation of hydrogen ions at the rate of 7.10 ¹⁶ H ⁺ / cm ² at 200 keV in order to obtain a buried fragile layer containing microcavities 61 at approximately 1.5 μm deep, i.e. in the support. 55 ^′ and under the oxide layer 56. The layer of microcavities 61 is intended to produce a cleavage in the support 55 (see document FR-A-2 681 472).

FIG. 5B shows the structure resulting from the sealing of the two substrates 51 and 54 to one another according to the thin layer 57. The sealing can be done by molecular adhesion or by means of an adhesive. If a heat treatment for reinforcing the seal is necessary, this heat treatment (temperature and duration) is chosen so as not to obtain at this stage the cleavage of the substrate 54.

The first substrate 51 is then micro-machined from its free face. FIG. 5C shows a recess 58 produced from the free face of the substrate 51. The recess is obtained by wet etching in baths containing KOH or TMAH.

FIG. 5D shows the addition to the structure previously obtained of a silicon substrate 59. The substrate 59 has, from the face adjacent to the substrate 51, a recess 60 which, in this exemplary embodiment, is identical to the recess 58 of the substrate 51. The connection between the substrates 51 and 59 can be made by adhesion molecular or by .joint glue.

A heat treatment at 1100 ° C. makes it possible to strengthen the bond between the substrates 51 and 59 and to cause the cleavage of the support 55 along the layer of microcavity 61. The most important part of the support 55 can therefore be recovered.

It remains to remove by etching the remaining fraction of the support 55 and the oxide layer 56 to reveal the thin layer of silicon 57 (see FIG. 5E). ^" Figures 6A and 6B illustrate a sixth embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention.

This alternative embodiment allows recovery of the support when the third substrate must be supported by a support. The second exemplary embodiment mentions the use of such a support. By using the method described in the document FR-A-2 681 472 already cited, it is possible to recover most of the support. Figure 6A shows the elements shown in Figure 2C. The structure represented further comprises a layer of microcavities 12 obtained, before the substrate 9 is fixed on the support 11, by ion implantation through the upper face of the support 11. A heat treatment, to which mechanical treatment is optionally added, makes it possible to 'Cleavage of the support 11 along the layer of microcavities. Most of the support 11 is then recovered. We obtain the structure shown in Figure 6B where a thin layer. 13 from the support still adheres to the substrate 9. This thin layer 13 can be removed by polishing to obtain a structure similar to that of FIG. IF.

FIGS. 7A to 7E illustrate a seventh exemplary embodiment of a micromachined membrane structure according to the invention.

FIG. 7A relates to the second substrate of the method. The substrate 74 is a silicon plate of standard thickness (425 μm) or not. An ion implantation and carried out through one of its main faces. It consists of implanting hydrogen ions in an amount of 5.10 ^lδ _ H ⁺ / cm ² for a ^_'' implantation energy of 70 keV. A layer of microcavities 76 is then formed about 0.6 μm deep under the implanted face. This layer of microcavities defines, with respect to the implanted face, a thin layer of silicon 77.

FIG. 7B represents the attachment of the second substrate 74 to a first substrate 71 similar to that shown in FIG. 1A, that is to say consisting of a silicon plate 72 of thickness standard or not, covered with an oxide layer 73 400 nm thick. The fixing can be done by bonding followed by a heat treatment at 300 ° C., a temperature which is insufficient to cause the cleavage of the substrate 74. The thin layer 77 then adheres to the substrate 71.

The first substrate 71 is then micro-machined from its free face. Figure 7C shows a recess 78 made from the free face of the substrate 71. The recess ^is obtained by wet etching in a bath containing KOH or Thma.

FIG. 7D shows the structure obtained after the sealing on the free face of the substrate 71 of a third silicon substrate 79 having a recess 80 opposite the recess 78. The recesses 78 and 80 then form a cavity. A heat treatment at a temperature for example of 600 ° C. or a mechanical separation makes it possible to obtain the cleavage of the second substrate along the layer of microcavities. There then remains on the first substrate 71 the thin layer 77 of silicon. A new heat treatment at a higher temperature (for example at 1100 ° C.) reinforces the bonding forces of the thin layer 77 on the Si0 ₂ layer covering the silicon plate 72.

Another way to obtain the structure of FIG. 7D consists in bonding the substrate 79 to the substrate 71, carrying out a heat treatment at 300 ° C., then a separation treatment (for example mechanical) leading to the cleavage of the substrate 74 along of the layer of microcavities, then annealing at 1100 ° allowing the strengthening of the bonding forces.

FIG. 7E shows the structure obtained after thinning and polishing of the thin layer 77 to a thickness of 200 nm. A thin layer of silicon 77 is obtained on an oxide layer 73.

A pressure sensor can be obtained with a structure obtained by the method of the invention and comprising a thin layer, for example made of silicon. For this, during a collective production, the thin layer of silicon is etched to delimit piezoresistive gauges. The gauges are doped by ion implantation followed by annealing at approximately 900 ° C. Contact holes etched in the gauges are metallized, then conductors are deposited on these metallized holes to ensure the output of the electrical signals. Wet etching allows external cavities to be produced. It only remains to separate the sensors by cutting. Among the particular advantages provided by the invention, there may be mentioned:

- the transfer of an active layer of one; SOI substrate on a thin or thick non-standard substrate, - the transfer of an active layer from an SOI substrate to a fragile (thin) icro-machined substrate which prevents thinning of the rear face and polishing of standard SOI substrates, which are operations poorly mastered at the industrial level, - micro-machining of a fragile substrate mounted on a rigid support constituting a handle which is subsequently eliminated.

- micro-machining of a fragile substrate mounted on a rigid support before transfer of the surface layer of semiconductor material which will serve as a means of detecting the deformation of a membrane (handle eliminated with transfer of the surface layer), - l assembly of fragile substrates on handles before elimination of the handles, the assembled fragile substrates being strong enough to withstand the manufacturing process of the sensors or microsystems, - the possibility of treating the upper face of the substrate with detection elements after elimination of the handle upper but retaining the handle of the micro-plant substrate on the rear face to ensure the solidity of the assembly during the course of all the stages in the case where the assembly of the fragile substrates is not strong enough to support the assembly of; process (the rear handle will be removed at the end of the process before machining the external cavities for the application described or at the end of the process before or after cutting the chips for other applications),

- the possibility of recovering a large part of the substrates used (support for an SOI substrate, handles).

Claims

1. Method for producing a micromachined membrane structure, the membrane resulting from the formation of a recess (8, 28, 48, 58, 78) produced from one of the main faces of a first substrate (1, 21, 41, 51, 71), characterized in that it comprises the following successive steps: a) fixing one of the main faces of the first substrate to a second substrate (4, 24, 44, 54, 74), b) making the recess from the other main face of the first substrate, c) fixing the hollowed face of the first substrate to a face of a third substrate (9, 29,

39, 49, 59, 79) to obtain a cavity comprising said recess.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in step a), said fixing of the first substrate to the second substrate is done by molecular adhesion or by bonding.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in step b), the recess is produced by wet etching and / or by dry etching.

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in step c), said fixing of the first substrate to the third substrate is done by molecular adhesion or by bonding.

5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, for step c), the hollowed out face of the first substrate is fixed on a face of a third substrate (9) which is integral with a support (11), the support being removed after step c).

6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the third substrate (9) is integral with a thin surface layer (13) of the support (11), this thin surface layer being delimited by a fragile buried layer allowing subsequent separation , the support being removed after step c) by cleavage according to the layer of microcavities (12) and recovered.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that said fragile buried layer is a layer of microcavities (12) produced by implantation of hydrogen and / or rare gases.

8. The method of claim 7,; characterized in that said cleavage is consecutive to a heat treatment and / or to the application of mechanical forces.

9. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, for step c), the hollow face of the first substrate (1, 21, 51, 71) is fixed on a hollow face of a third substrate (9, 29, 59, 79), said cavity being constituted by the meeting of the recesses of the first and third substrates.

10. Method according to claim 9, characterized in that the recess of the third substrate is produced by wet etching or by dry etching.

11. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, after step c), the second substrate is thinned.

12. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in step a), the first substrate is fixed, on the side of an active layer (7, 27, 57, 77) presented by the second substrate, the layer active being a layer allowing the production of electronic components.

13. The method of claim 12, characterized in that, after step c) the method further comprises producing at least one strain gauge in said active layer. ;

14. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the second substrate (4, 24, 54) being an SOI substrate, in step a) the first substrate (1, 21, 51) is fixed on the thin layer silicon (7, 27, 57) of the SOI substrate.

15. Method according to claim 14, characterized in that the face of the first substrate fixed on the second substrate is an electrically insulating face.

16. Method according to claim 15, characterized in that the first substrate (1, 21, 51,

71) is a silicon substrate (2, 22, 52, 72), covered with a layer of silicon dioxide (3, 23,

53, 73).

17. Method according to any one of Claims 14 to 16, characterized in that, after step c) the second substrate (4, 24, 54) is thinned so as to keep only the thin layer (7, 27, 57) ^" of silicon on the first substrate (1, 21, 51).

18. The method of claim 17, characterized in that the second substrate is thinned using at least one of the following methods: etching, mechanical thinning, chemical mechanical thinning and cleavage according to a buried fragile layer which allows the separation created in the second substrate by ion implantation. •

19. The method of claim 18, characterized in that said cleavage is consecutive to a heat treatment and / or the application of mechanical forces.

20. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first substrate (71) being a silicon substrate (72) covered with at least one silicon dioxide layer (73), the second substrate (74) being a silicon substrate in which a thin surface layer (77) is delimited by a buried fragile layer allowing subsequent separation, after step c) the second substrate (74) is thinned by cleavage according to the microcavity layer (76) and is recovered.

21. The method of claim 20, characterized in that said fragile buried layer is a layer (76) containing microcavities produced by implantation of gaseous species.

22. Method according to claim 21, characterized in that said cleavage is consecutive to a heat treatment and / or to the application of mechanical forces.