Silicon micro XY-stage with a large area shuttle and no-etching holes for SPM-based data storage

A micro XY-stage with a 5 x 5 mm(2)-area shuttle is fabricated for application in a nanometer-scale data storage device. A central shuttle of the device is designed as a large square on which a high-density recording medium is deposited. Perpendicularly combined comb-drive actuators allow the large shuttle free access in the x-y plane. No etching holes on the central shuttle are preferred in order to maximize the effective recording area. Therefore, a novel release process, Micro-Channel Assisted Release Process (muCARP) is proposed to release a large plate structure without any etching holes and to resist downward sticking. The static and dynamic strokes of the device were measured. Mechanical interferences between x-and y-directional drives were estimated by finite-element method (FEM) analysis and compared with the experimental results.