Advantages and Limitations of Diamond-Like Carbon as a MEMS Thin Film Material

Combining Bulk Silicon Micromachining (BSM) with Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) thin film technology can be favourable used to make high performance MEMS devices. We highlight the versatility of BSM combined with the unique features of our proprietary DLC thin film technology to make high performance MEMS devices at favourable cost. A high performance infrared emitter has been designed and commercialised, with the most distinctive features being high speed with a modulation depth of more than 100 HZ, broadband IR emission from 1 to 20 micrometers, more than 10% power efficiency, and a lifetime beyond 100,000 hours. These emitters are already in use in system applications like non-dispersive infrared gas sensors.