Diamond MEMS - a new emerging technology

Diamond is a superhard, wide bandgap, semiconductor material of high mechanical strength and thermal stability and therefore an ideal candidate for micro electromechanical devices. Using these properties in a diamond-on-Si technology, a number of sensors and actuators have been attempted. However, their industrial implementation lags far behind that of silicon micro electromechanical systems (Si-MEMS) technologies. In this study, highly oriented chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond films were deposited on large area Si-substrates, micromachined into structured membranes and applied to two demonstrators: a seismic mass membrane acceleration sensor and a liquid ejector based on a diamond microspot heater. In this technology, the outstanding and extreme diamond material properties are already widely reflected in the performance of the demonstrators. The technology may be scaled and implemented into existing Si-based microsystem technologies and may therefore open up the possibility to integrate diamond MEMS technology into the Si-based mainstream (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.