A novel method to fabricate single crystal nano beams with (111)-oriented Si micromachining

Single crystal beams made by (111)-oriented Si micromachining are usually anchored to the substrate directly. It is difficult to use the beams as resonators, since they are electrically connected to the substrate. This paper presents a modified process to fabricate single crystal nano beams which are electrically isolated from the substrate. In this process, the single crystal nano beams are fully released from the substrate and mechanically supported by metal wires, which also serve as electrical connections. The metal wires are much stiffer than the beams and do not degrade the mechanical properties of the beam according to simulations. The length and width of the beams are determined by photolithography. The thickness of the beam and the gap between the beam and the substrate are determined by the dry etching and KOH etching processes. The influence of KOH etching on the beam thickness is documented through ongoing experiments. At present, the double clamped beams and the cantilever beams have been fabricated. The thinnest beam to date was measured to be 47 nm. The resistance between the beam and the substrate was measured to be 214GΩ, while the resistance of a 147 nm-thick beam was measured to be 816 Ω. The surface roughness of the (111) plane is also discussed. The RMS surface roughness of the nano beam was measured to be 1.08 nm in an area of 5 μm × 5 μm, which was etched with 45%wt. KOH at 50°C.