A novel sacrificial-layer process based on anodic bonding and its application in an accelerometer

It is found in our experiments that the depletion layer of anodic bonding is etched faster than the bulk glass (Pyrex 7740) in hydrofluoric acid (HF). Based on this interesting phenomenon, a novel process of a sacrificial layer is proposed in this paper. In order to deeply understand and investigate the rules concerning the influence of bonding parameters on this effect, firstly the width of the depletion layer under different bonding voltages and temperatures and the selection ratio of etching are revealed. To validate the feasibility of the method, a micro-machined accelerometer is designed and fabricated. The test results of resonant frequency and sensitivity of the fabricated accelerometer are 3254.5 Hz and 829.85–844.93 mV/g, respectively. This was further evidence that the depletion layer could be used as a sacrificial layer and the removable structure could be successfully released by fast etching this layer. The important feature of this method is that only one mask is needed in the whole process and therefore it could greatly simplify the fabrication process of the device.