Fabricating Process of Thin-Strain Sensor by Utilizing Wafer-Level-Packaging Techniques

Abstract

This research has developed a fabricating process of thin-strain sensor by utilizing wafer-level-packaging (WLP) techniques. The thickness of sensor makes thinner, its performance is able to highly increase. However, the thinner sensor was fragile, and so it was difficult to handle in post processes. Thus, a thin sensor with lid by utilizing WLP techniques, which is tough to break even when handled, is proposed in this research. More than 250-mm-deep grooves were fabricated around the lid by deep reactive ion etching. After the lid substrate was bonded on the sensor substrate with a resin, the sensor and lid substrates were respectively polished to 50 µm and 200 µm thickness. The lids were released along the grooves, and the 50-mm-thick strain sensors were able to be fabricated by utilizing WLP techniques. This sensor was used as a diaphragm to measure pressure. The sensors were assembled on a stainless steel housing without breakage. The performance of developed sensor was almost showed with a conventional pressure sensor.