X-ray Microprobe Studies of Materials Problems Related to Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Structures

The understanding of the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of materials used in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) is essential for the successful application. For the characterization of such materials, it is often necessary to utilize a probe which can gather information on the same scale as the devices themselves. Based on these needs, x-ray microprobe analysis has been employed to perform spatially resolved measurements on several problems related to the fabrication of MEMS devices. These include spatially resolved transmission measurements of the homogeneity of transmitted flux through a graphite mask, micro-fluorescence measurements to assess elemental distributions, and micro-XANES measurements to follow the breakdown of new sulfone-based x-ray resists. These studies demonstrate the value of such an instrument in the characterization of micro-systems.