European MEMS Summit 2015

EMERGING MEMS
TECHNOLOGY AT LETI

Jean-René Lèquepeys | Head of Silicon Components Division

 OUTLINE

• LETI overview (one slide)

• MEMS Activities overview

• M&NEMS Platform for physical
sensors
• NEMS Platform for chemical and
biological sensors
• Conclusion

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 About Leti

Founded in 1967

1,800 researchers
250 PhD students + 40 post PhD
CEO
with 37% foreign students Dr. M-N Semeria

2800 patents
311 generated in 2014
40% under license

318 M€ budget (80% contract R&D) 54 start-ups

~ 40M€ CapEx & 365 industrial partners

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 30+ YEARS BACKGROUND IN MEMS SENSORS

Thin Film Bulk Surface Nano-scale Technology

Technology Technology Technology (DUV litho on thin SOI)
(Vac.dep. / shadow mask) (Litho / wet etching) (Litho / DRIE on SOI)

2010 – joint lab.

1984 - Comb drive 2013 - Startup
accelero patent
Key dates

1996 - Startup 2007 - Caltech

creation Alliance 2011 - Startup 2014
Startup

year

80 90 00 10 20
Transfers

Weight sensor Quartz Pacemaker Geophone Accelerometer Above-IC GMR

accelerometer accelerometer Technology
1980

1987

XXXXXX

2012
1996

2005
Hygrometer High perf. Miniature Inertial M&NEMS
pressure sensor pressure sensor platform platform
1981

1996
1998

2013
2011
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 MICROSYSTEMS SECTION

LCMC Lab. LCMA Lab. LCRF Lab. LPI Lab. LCFC Lab.
Sensors Actuators RF Components Packaging & Characterization
Components Components Interposer & Reliability

TECHNOLOGICAL PLATFORM
• MEMS 8”(1000 m²) + FE 8”(3000 m²) Cleanrooms
• Specific MEMS equip. : DRIE, HF-vapor, bonder…
• 5 shifts working: 7days/week – 24h/day

Overall MEMS activities > 200 people

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 MEMS BACKGROUND

Inertial sensor

3-axis Accelerometer 3-axis Gyroscope Geophone

Pressure sensor

Capacitive pressure sensor Piezoresistive pressure sensor 3-axis force sensor

Acoustic sensor

cMUT Microphone

Magnetic sensor

Above-IC GMR sensor TMR sensor and resonator 3-axis Compass |6

 MEMS BACKGROUND

Gas sensor

NEMS-based + µGC gas sensor Humidity

µ-TOF Mass-spec for NRBC

RF-MEMS
Q=58000 @ 97MHz Q=24000 @ 4.2 GHz 35V / 40GHz

high-Q resonator (Si and HBAR) Micro-switch BAW filter

MEMS actuator
10 diopters @
10V

PZT ultrasonic transducers

Micro-valves PZT-based Variable Lens
(Digital-loudspeaker, pMUT)

Energy harvesting
1cm²x1mm
200µW/cm³ @ 200 Hz 1cm³ / 10µW @ 20 Hz 1mW @ 60rpm (1Hz)

Piezoelectric AlN harvester Electret-based harvester Breakthrough concept |7

 TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND

Electrostatic gap:
3µm high / 80nm width

Nano-scale
technologie
NEMS resonator MEMS with nano-gap M&NEMS platform

SEM view
RF switch on top of CMOS GMR sensor on top CMOS
circuit of CMOS circuit
NEMS

MEMS / CMOS
Co-integration driver

NEMS with 0.35µm CMOS

Above-IC co-integration Pre-CMOS co-integration

500nF/mm² 10x[NiFe1µm / SiO2100nm]

3D Integrated Capacitors
Passive components (ALD medium k material – h=50µm)
Magnetic core HF inductors (<100 MHz)
integration Breakdown 7,5 KV CoFe/NiMn exchange
R ≈ 4Ω, L ≈ 82nH coupled material

Electro-Magnetic Transformer Magnetic shield RF inductors (2 -10 GHz)

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 TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND

Vacuum WLP with TSV

Hermetic packaging

Vacuum Wafer-level packaging & Getter Thin-Film packaging

AR20 AR10 AR3-5

3D technology

TSV-First (Poly-Si filled) TSV-Mid (Cu-filled) TSV last (Cu-liner)

3 thinned dies

Cu pillars Back to face interconnect Thinning (20µm) & multi-die stacking (µ-bump or µ-insert)
3D integration (pitch 40µm)

80µm thick interposer

with embedded 3D capa

Silicon Smart
Interposer Interposer

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 TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND

PZT Sol-gel deposition AlN sputtering deposition

Material expertise

F/AF permanent magnet CoFe/NiMn stack

PZT stack BAW filter
Magnetic material
Piezoelectric material GMR, TMR, high permeability mat. (RF inductor) and high
permitivity and permeablity mat. (for antenna)
(actionneur, RF, high k)

Residual Gas Analysis

Packaging « 3D »
reliability reliability

electromigration
Characterization mechanisms,..

expertise

Physics of MEMS device & Passive Thermal behavior, long term

Electrical contact failure
contact mechanisms component reliability stability, resonance freq.,…

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 M&NEMS PLATFORM

Goal : “Generic”, efficient and

reliable MEMS platform
Strong cost pressure

Miniaturization M&NEMS Platform

Growing use of Combo sensors
 Innovative and high-performance
MEMS components concept
 Unique Platform with the capability
 Well established to address 11+ axis
 Accelerometer
 Gyroscope  Differentiation: 20+ patents

LETI Solution
 Magnetometer
 Microphone
 Sensor being adopted
Issues

 Pressure
 Humidity

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 M&NEMS : A GENERIC TECHNOLOGY FOR
PHYSICAL SENSORS

Solution : Integrate two different thicknesses on the same device

 A thick layer for the inertial mass (MEMS)
 A thin layer for the gauge (NEMS)

Miniaturization
Generic platform with 9 to 11 DOF

Separate optimization
Gauge Mass

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 M&NEMS WORKING PRINCIPLE
EXAMPLE WITH IN-PLANE ACCELEROMETER

Rotation axis V0

R
Seismic mass g g
VS
R F
F = M.g

V0 Piezoresistive gauge

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 M&NEMS WORKING PRINCIPLE
EXAMPLE WITH IN-PLANE ACCELEROMETER

Rotation axis V0

- R+ R
s R

VS g g
s R- R
R

F = M.g

V0
Piezoresistive gauge s

R
 s
R
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 M&NEMS "GENERIC" PLATFORM

 Generic platform
 Miniaturized sensors
 Well known and robust
piezoresisitive detection
 Not sensitive to parasitics
MEMS size mechanical part  Very short duty cycle
Separate
and multiplexing
+
optimization
 Simple electronics
Nano-size piezoresistive gauge common for all the axis

3-axis 3-axis 3-axis Pressure High-SNR

Accelero Gyroscope Magneto Sensor Microphone

Y Z

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3-AXIS M&NEMS GYROSCOPE

 Mechanical footprint ≈ 2 mm²

 Cross-axis rejection > 59 dB (50x better
than SoA consumer market gyroscopes)
 ARW < 0.01°/s/√Hz
 Linearity error is < 0.25% of the FSR

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 M&NEMS 6-AXIS COMPASS/ACCELEROMETER

 6-axis mechanical
footprint ≈ 1,1mm²
 Low power consumption
(30µW/axis in DC)
 1 electronic common for
each of the 6 axis
 High linearity

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 M&NEMS PRESSURE SENSOR

 Mechanical footprint ≈ 0.1mm²  Reliability:

 High linearity  Protected gauge from external environment
 Over-pressure protection (stops)
 Auto-test electrode
 Compatible with high temperature
 Non sensitive to vibration and to parasitic
capacitance

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 M&NEMS IN 300mm

Main advantages to move to 300 mm:

• Cost reduction
• Capability to use more advanced CMOS
nodes available only on 300mm

300mm M&NEMS wafer 300mm vs 200mm M&NEMS wafer | 19

 NEMS-BASED SENSORS PLATFORM
FOR GAS AND BIO-SENSING

Mass
loading

-

f

f
0
 -4


Responsivity l
m2 M eff


Resolution m  -2M  l3
0

• High resolution
• Very short response time
• High integration

Gas detection Mass-spec for Bio µbolometer Cellular force

applications sensor
Frequency stability

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 NEMS-BASED MULTI-GAS SYSTEM

MULTI-GAS SYSTEM BASED ON MEMS/NEMS TECHNOLOGIES

Carrier Analytical module

gas
GC NEMS
Gas Sampling
separation detection
mixture
Silicon NEMS Detector
Silicon MEMS injector Thermal regulation • Sensitive (nano size)  ppm/ppb
• Low dead volume (LOD) Control electronics • Small  direct integration into
• High reliability (million cycles) microfluidic architecture without
dead volume
Data transmission & processing • Fast  compatible with GC

Silicon MEMS Pre-Concentrator

• High amplification factor in short
period (factor 1000 for Toluene
with Tenax) Silicon MEMS GC
• Fast amplication (1 min) • High selectivity
• Thermal regulation
• Speed

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 NEMS-BASED MULTI-GAS SYSTEM

EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS PERFORMED WITH APIX SYSTEM

• Industrial (Gas&Oil) application: • Indoor Air Quality application
application

Chromatogram performed
Chromatogram performed on a BTEX mixture
on a fuel gas mixture

LOD < ppm

Ex: Ethylbenzene 50ppb
LOD < ppm
Ex: Nonane 33ppb LOD < ppb with Pre-concentrator
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THE LEADING R&D INSTITUTE ON MICROSYSTEMS

 30 years experience in MEMS

 200 people involved in MEMS
(sensor, actuator, RF, packaging, process, characterization)
 All 8” MEMS/NEMS technologies in-house,
starting to have first results on 12’’

 330 patent portfolio in the MEMS field

 35 % under license or on co-ownership
 35 new patents/year

 25 on-going industrial collaborations

 10 long-term strategic partnerships
 18 industrial transfers
 5 startups created

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Thank you for your attention
PZT-BASED VARIABLE LENS

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