ECE 5210 1

ECE 5210: MEMS from Fabrication to Application

Virginia Tech
Spring 2011

General Information

Instructor: Professor Masoud Agah

Office: 469 Whittemore Hall
E-mail: agah at vt dot edu
Phone: (540) 231-2653
www.ece.vt.edu/Agah
www.ece.vt.edu/mems

Course Lecture: T/R 2 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Office Hours: By appointment

Course Description:
MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) are “very small systems” or “systems made of very
small components.” The course focuses on the design, fabrication, and application of MEMS.
The course builds on the science and engineering base provided by most undergraduate degrees
in such fields as biology, bioengineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, electrical
engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, and physics, and creates a unique
opportunity for interdisciplinary interactions. The course consists of lectures, readings from the
current literature, and discussion by students along with a team project. The major topics covered
are: materials in MEMS; microfabrication techniques; sensing and actuating mechanisms; wafer-
level packaging; and case-study of some MEMS-based devices and lab-on-a-chip systems.

Course Objectives:

 Describe various microsystems and MEMS technologies and their applications

 Demonstrate an understanding of various semiconductor processes,
microfabrication techniques and wafer-level packaging technologies
 Demonstrate a basic understanding of different materials and their properties
in MEMS
 Demonstrate an understanding of different sensing and actuating mechanisms
in microsystems
 Design various MEMS systems using microfabrication techniques and
transduction mechanisms
 Develop skills in multidisciplinary collaboration
 Develop interests and skills in MEMS/BioMEMS research
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Course Prerequisites:
Graduate Standing or Senior Undergraduate (needs instructor’s approval)

Textbooks:
Required: M. J. Madou, Fundamentals of Microfabrication, The Science of Miniaturization (2E),
CRC Press, 2002

Recommended: Stephen D. Senturia, Microsystem Design, Springer, 2004

References:

 IEEE JMEMS
 Sensors and Actuators
 IEEE J. Micromechanics and Microengineering
 IEEE Transducers Conferences
 IEEE MEMS Conferences
 Lab On Chip

Grading Method:

 Class participation and interaction 15%

 HW and Midterm 15% and 35%
 Project 35%

Policy on Cooperation:
The essence of this course is interdisciplinary interaction and cooperation. For term projects, a
single report from each team is to be presented. For homework assignments, however, each
student must write his/her own work (trivial but wanted to say).
Note: I will not accept any complain about your teammates two weeks after the teams are
formed.

Term Projects:
Term projects can be in various disciplines and can address different needs of the technology:
 The project report will be based on existing NSF and NIH grant proposal guidelines.
 Specific guidelines will be given in the class.

The project grading consists of three parts: proposal presentation (5%), final project presentation
and the report (30%).
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Tentative Syllabus:
There will be 5-7 homework assignments.

# Material Covered Comments

1 Administration - Overview
2 Semiconductor Processing
3 Semiconductor Processing
4 Semiconductor Processing
5 Semiconductor Processing
6 Case Study: Diode and Transistor
7 Bulk Micromachining
8 Bulk Micromachining
9 Case Study: Buried Channel Techniques
10 Surface Micromachining Groups
11 Surface Micromachining
12 Beam Theory
13 Continue Beam Theory
Case Study: Sensor Applications
14 Capacitive Sensing & Electrostatic Actuating Project Topics
15 Spring Break
16 Spring Break
17 Continue Capacitive
Case Study: Sensor & Actuator Applications
18 NSF Guidelines -- Project Proposals
19 Wafer Bonding and Packaging
20 Case Study: DWP Process
21 Case Study: Implantable Microsystems
22 Midterm
23 Midterm Review
Cleanroom Visitation Plenty of time to
24 Midterm Review work on your team
25 Scaling in Miniaturized Systems project.
26 Nanotechnology
27 Other issues in MEMS (System Integration)
28 Case Study: MEMS and Nano Integration
29 Project Presentation
30 Project Presentation
31 Report Due Report Due