JP6582273B2 - Manufacturing method of MEMS element - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, MEMS device, in particular a microphone, various sensors, relates to the production how a capacitive MEMS device which is used as a switch or the like.

  Conventionally, in a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) element using a semiconductor process, a movable electrode, a sacrificial layer, and a fixed electrode are formed on a semiconductor substrate, and then a part of the sacrificial layer is removed to move through a spacer. An electrode and a fixed electrode are fixed.

  For example, an acoustic transducer that is a capacitive MEMS element has a fixed electrode having a plurality of through holes that allow sound pressure to pass therethrough and a movable electrode that vibrates in response to the sound pressure and is opposed to the movable electrode that vibrates. The displacement is detected as a change in capacitance between the electrodes. When a MEMS microphone is formed using such a MEMS element, an integrated circuit (IC) having a signal processing function is required to process an output signal of the MEMS element.

  For example, FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a general MEMS microphone, in which a MEMS element 100 and an IC chip 101 are mounted on a mounting substrate 102 and covered with a metal can 103. An electrical signal (detection signal) detected by the MEMS element 100 is input to the IC chip 101 via the metal wire 104, is subjected to desired signal processing, and is externally connected from a connection terminal of the mounting substrate 102 via a wiring (not shown). Is output.

  The metal can 103 is provided to protect the MEMS element 100 and the IC chip 101 from external noise, physical contact, and the like. An opening is formed in a part of the metal can 103 in order to allow sound waves from the outside to reach the MEMS element 100. Is formed. This type of MEMS microphone is disclosed in Patent Document 1 (FIG. 4).

  Next, in order to explain the connection structure by the metal wire 104 in detail, FIG. 10 shows an explanatory view of the connection structure of the MEMS element 100. As shown in FIG. 10, in the MEMS element 100, the movable electrode 3 is formed on the silicon substrate 1 via the thermal oxide film 2, and the fixed electrode 5 is formed on the movable electrode 3 via the spacer 4. . A plurality of through holes 6 are formed in the fixed electrode 5. On the other hand, a slit 7 is formed in the movable electrode 3, and the residual stress is adjusted. Although a nitride film is usually formed on the fixed electrode 5, illustration is omitted. On the back side of the silicon substrate 1, a part of the silicon substrate 1 is removed, and a back chamber 8 is formed.

  When the metal wire 104 is formed in the MEMS element 100 having such a structure, wire bonding is performed to each of the movable electrode lead electrode 9 connected to the movable electrode 3 and the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 connected to the fixed electrode 5. At that time, in order to alleviate the impact at the time of bonding to the MEMS element 100, the connection is generally formed by a ball bonding method in which the tip of the metal wire 104 is heated and melted to form a ball. Although not shown in FIG. 10, the connection structure connected to the silicon substrate shown in FIG. 9 is the same.

  In such a ball bonding method, the height of the joint between the movable electrode lead electrode 9 and the metal wire 104 or the joint between the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 and the metal wire 104 exceeds the diameter of the metal wire. (For example, when a metal wire having a diameter of 50 μm is used, the height is about 100 μm). For this reason, the height of the metal can 103 described with reference to FIG. This was contrary to the market demand for thinner electronic components in recent years.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to reduce the thickness of the silicon substrate 1 of the MEMS element 100. However, reducing the thickness is not preferable because the volume of the back chamber 8 is reduced and the sensitivity of the MEMS element 100 is lowered. In addition, there is a limit in reducing only the height of the metal can 103 because there is a problem of contact with the metal wire 104.

JP 2011-101304 A

Conventionally, when a MEMS element and its signal processing integrated circuit are mounted on a mounting substrate and connected with a metal wire, the height of the connecting portion of the metal wire formed on the electrode on the MEMS element is high, and the metal can Therefore, it was difficult to make the mounting structure thin. The present invention, even if the height of the connection portion of the metal wire to form a junction by high ball bonding method, and an object thereof is to provide a manufacturing how the MEMS device that thinning is possible as a mounting structure.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application includes a substrate having a back chamber, a movable electrode and a fixed electrode arranged on the substrate with a spacer interposed therebetween, and a movable electrode connected to the movable electrode. A MEMS element comprising a plurality of MEMS elements each including an electrode lead electrode and a fixed electrode lead electrode connected to the fixed electrode on a collective substrate, and then cutting the collective substrate along a scribe line into pieces. A step of removing a part of the collective substrate at a position reaching the cutting region of the scribe line in the movable electrode lead electrode formation planned region and the fixed electrode lead electrode formation planned region and forming a concave portion in the manufacturing method of The movable electrode lead electrode connected to the movable electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode connected to the fixed electrode are respectively disposed in the concave portion. Forming the step, cutting the collective substrate along the scribe line, and separating into individual MEMS elements, and forming a step portion by removing a part of the side wall of the concave portion, Exposing the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode formed on the surface of the substrate .

The MEMS element according to the manufacturing method of the MEMS element of the present invention has a conventional connection portion with a metal wire by forming the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode on the step portion formed by removing a part of the substrate. The structure can be formed at a lower position. In the connection structure using the MEMS element of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the protrusion height of the connection portion by appropriately adjusting the depth of the step portion according to the protrusion height of the connection portion. When mounted and covered with a metal can, there is an advantage that the height can be reduced. In particular, the effect is great when connecting by a ball bonding method as a wire bonding method.

In addition, the MEMS element according to the manufacturing method of the MEMS element of the present invention does not need to change the shape of the conventional MEMS element except for the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode, and particularly does not need to change the capacity of the back chamber. The advantage is great in that the sensitivity is not lowered.

  The method for manufacturing a MEMS device according to the present invention includes a step of forming a concave portion in a region where a movable electrode lead electrode and a fixed electrode lead electrode are to be formed and reaching a scribe line in a normal MEMS device manufacturing process. When adding and cutting along the scribe line, by cutting at the position reaching the concave portion, the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode can be formed to be exposed to the stepped portion, It is a simple manufacturing method. Moreover, since it can comprise only the process used for the manufacturing process of a normal MEMS element, it becomes possible to manufacture with a sufficient yield.

In the MEMS element connection structure according to the MEMS element manufacturing method of the present invention, since the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode are exposed at the step portion, a bonding method using a normal wire bonding apparatus, specifically, Even if a method of forming a connection by pressing a metal wire with a capillary is used, the connection can be formed without the capillary contacting the side wall portion remaining on the stepped portion.

It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of another MEMS element by the manufacturing process of the MEMS element of this invention. It is the schematic of a common MEMS microphone. It is explanatory drawing of the connection structure of the conventional MEMS element.

In the MEMS element according to the method for manufacturing a MEMS element of the present invention, the height of the extraction electrode connected to the metal wire is formed low. Hereinafter, a MEMS device according to a method for manufacturing a MEMS device of the present invention will be described in detail according to the manufacturing process, and then a connection structure between a metal wire and a lead electrode will be described.

  As a first embodiment, a MEMS device and a manufacturing method thereof will be described. A plurality of MEMS elements are simultaneously formed on the silicon substrate 1 serving as a collective substrate. In the following drawings used for explanation, a part of the collective substrate is illustrated, and a part of a scribe line arranged between one MEMS element and an adjacent MEMS element is described. First, a thermal oxide film 2 having a thickness of about 1 μm is formed on a silicon substrate 1 having a crystal orientation (100) plane of 420 μm, and a thickness of about 0 μm is formed on the thermal oxide film 2 by a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method. A conductive polysilicon film having a thickness of about 2 to 2.0 μm is stacked. Next, the conductive polysilicon film is patterned by a normal photolithography method to form the movable electrode 3. A slit 8 is formed in the movable electrode 3 to improve sensitivity. A sacrificial layer 11 made of a USG (Undoped Silicate Glass) film having a thickness of about 2.0 to 5.0 μm is stacked on the movable electrode 3. A conductive polysilicon film having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1.0 μm is laminated on the sacrificial layer 11 and patterned by a normal photolithography method to form the fixed electrode 5. A portion of the sacrificial layer 11 is removed by etching, and a portion of the previously formed movable electrode 3 is exposed (FIG. 1).

  Next, the photoresist 12 is patterned so as to open regions where the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode are to be formed. Here, the opening 13 is formed so as to reach a scribe line that becomes a cutting region when individual MEMS elements are separated. Thereafter, the photoresist 12 that opens the regions where the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode are to be formed is used as an etching mask, and the sacrificial layer 11, the thermal oxide film 2, and a part of the silicon substrate 1 are removed to form the concave portion 14. (FIG. 2). In this example, a silicon substrate having a crystal orientation of (100) on the surface is used, and by performing anisotropic etching so that the crystal orientation of the sidewall of the concave portion 14 becomes (111), the shape of the quadrangular prism is obtained. The concave portion 14 from which a part of the silicon substrate 1 is removed can be formed. Alternatively, anisotropic etching may be performed so that the side wall portion of the concave portion 14 has a crystal plane that is inclined so that the opening size becomes narrower toward the bottom surface instead of being removed in the shape of a quadrangular prism. In addition, as described with reference to FIG. 9, when an extraction electrode for forming a connection with the silicon substrate is necessary, it may be formed in the same manner as the movable electrode extraction electrode and the fixed electrode extraction electrode. Hereinafter, description of the method for forming the extraction electrode for forming the connection with the silicon substrate will be omitted.

  The depth of the concave portion 14 is such that a movable electrode lead electrode or a fixed electrode lead electrode, which will be described later, is formed on the bottom surface, and the height of the metal wire is not increased when the connection between the lead electrode and the metal wire is formed. May be adjusted as appropriate. As an example, the concave portion 14 having a depth of about 100 μm can be formed. Further, as will be described later, since a part of the side wall of the concave portion 14 is removed in the process of singulation, the width of the bottom surface of the concave portion 14 is wider than the size of the movable electrode extraction electrode or the fixed electrode extraction electrode. It is preferable to form it.

  The photoresist 12 is removed, the surface is covered with a nitride film 15 which is an insulating film, and a part of the movable electrode 3 and the fixed electrode 5 is exposed by a normal photolithographic method (FIG. 3).

  Thereafter, the movable electrode lead electrode 9 and the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 that are in contact with the movable electrode 3 and the fixed electrode 5 are formed by a normal photolithography method. These lead electrodes are formed so as to be drawn to the bottom surface along the side wall of the concave portion 14 formed earlier as shown in FIG. 4 (FIG. 4). As described above, the concave portion 14 has a depth of about 100 μm, but can be patterned by an ordinary photolithographic method. Here, the nitride film 15 and a part of the fixed electrode 5 are removed by a normal photolithographic method, a through hole 6 for transmitting sound pressure to the movable electrode 3 is formed, and the sacrificial layer 11 is exposed in the through hole 6. Let

  Thereafter, part of the silicon substrate 1 is removed from the back side of the silicon substrate 1 until the thermal oxide film 2 is exposed, and a back chamber 8 is formed. Thereafter, a part of the sacrificial layer 11 is removed through the through hole 6 to form the spacer 4. As a result, a hollow structure in which the movable electrode 3 and the fixed electrode 5 are fixed to the spacer 4 is formed. By etching the sacrificial layer 11, a part of the thermal oxide film 2 is also removed (FIG. 5).

  Next, individualization is performed. In the present invention, at the time of the separation, a part of the side wall portion of the concave portion 14 formed earlier is removed simultaneously with the cutting removal of the scribe line. As a result, the movable electrode lead electrode 9 and the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 are formed on the stepped portion 16 having an opening (exposed) shape on the side wall side of the MEMS chip from the shape of the concave portion dug on the prism. (FIG. 6).

  In further description of this individualization step, when the concave portion 14 is arranged so as to straddle both scribe lines orthogonal to each other, two surfaces of the side wall portion of the concave portion 14 are removed in the individualization step, and the rectangular shape In the corner portion of the MEMS element, a side wall portion remains in two directions, and an extraction electrode is formed in the step portion 16 opened in the two directions. Further, when the concave portion 14 is arranged so as to contact only one scribe line, one side of the side wall portion of the concave portion 14 is removed by the singulation process, and the side wall portion is formed on one side of the square MEMS element. As a result, a lead electrode is formed in the step portion 16 having one open surface.

  As described above, in this embodiment, compared with the conventional MEMS element, the movable electrode lead electrode 9 and the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 that are connected to the metal wire at the time of mounting remove a part of the silicon substrate 1. A MEMS element having a shape extending to the formed step portion 16 can be formed.

  Next, a connection structure for connecting a metal wire to the MEMS element described in the first embodiment and a connection method thereof will be described. As described in the first embodiment, the movable electrode lead electrode 9 and the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 are respectively formed on the surface of the step portion 16 opened on the side wall side of the MEMS element. Metal wires 104 are respectively connected to the movable electrode lead electrode 9 and the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 formed in the step portion 16 by a general wire bonding method. Here, in particular, when the connection is formed by the ball bonding method as shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the metal wire 104 is heated and melted to form a ball, and this ball is pressed and brought into contact with each extraction electrode by a capillary. . As a result, the ball of the metal wire 104 is not completely crushed and a high connection is formed.

  However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the movable electrode extraction electrode 9 and the fixed electrode extraction electrode 10 are formed on the stepped portion 16 from which a part of the silicon substrate 1 is removed. Even if the balls are formed, it is possible to form a low connection structure as a whole. The wire bonding method is not limited to the ball bonding method, but it can be seen that the ball bonding method having a high bonding height is highly effective.

  As described above, since the connection structure of the present embodiment can be formed with a relatively low height of the joint between the extraction electrode and the metal wire, the MEMS device is mounted on the mounting substrate and covered with a metal can. It is possible to reduce the height, which is very effective

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to these. For example, by changing the crystal orientation of the surface of the silicon substrate on which the MEMS element is formed, the shape is changed to a concave portion formed by anisotropic etching, or the formation of the concave portion is changed to a dry etching method, and the etching is performed. It is also possible to change the shape of the concave portion by changing the conditions. For example, the shape of the side wall portion from which the movable electrode lead electrode 9 and the fixed electrode lead electrode 10 extend can be inclined as shown in FIG.

1: silicon substrate, 2: thermal oxide film, 3: movable electrode, 4: spacer, 5: fixed electrode film, 6: through-hole, 7: slit, 8: back chamber, 9: movable electrode lead electrode, 10: fixed Electrode extraction electrode, 11: sacrificial layer, 12: photoresist, 13: opening, 14: concave portion, 15: nitride film, 16: stepped portion

Claims (1)

A substrate provided with a back chamber; a movable electrode and a fixed electrode disposed on the substrate with a spacer interposed therebetween; a movable electrode extraction electrode connected to the movable electrode; and a fixed electrode extraction electrode connected to the fixed electrode; In a method for manufacturing a MEMS device, the method includes: forming a plurality of MEMS elements on a collective substrate; and cutting the collective substrate along a scribe line into pieces.
Removing a part of the collective substrate at a position reaching the cutting region of the scribe line in the movable electrode lead electrode formation planned region and the fixed electrode lead electrode formation planned region, and forming a concave portion;
Forming a movable electrode lead electrode connected to the movable electrode and a fixed electrode lead electrode connected to the fixed electrode, respectively, in the concave portion;
The collective substrate is cut along the scribe line and separated into individual MEMS elements, and a step portion is formed by removing a part of the side wall of the concave portion, and is formed on the surface of the step portion. Exposing the movable electrode lead electrode and the fixed electrode lead electrode. A method of manufacturing a MEMS device, comprising:

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