Micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) structures with different in-plane dimensions often need to be released simultaneously from the bulk of the wafer and a single dry etching or wet etching technique cannot fulfill all release requirements. In this paper we present a universally applicable solution to release MEMS structures with different surface areas in a controlled and uniform way, which combines isotropic etching of a sacrificial silicon support structure by xenon difluoride with a predefined etch surface made by deep reactive ion etching. Two applications of this Sacrificial Grid Release Technology are presented, in which MEMS devices are released in silicon-on-insulator wafers. The demonstrated applications involve the release of microstructures with in-plane dimensions ranging from tens of micrometers to a few millimeters. The sacrificial silicon structure provides mechanical support which allows freedom in process flow design for fragile MEMS structures. The release technique can also be used to separate the chips from the wafer.

具有不同面内尺寸的微机电系统 (MEMS) 结构通常需要从晶片主体上同时释放，而单一的干蚀刻或湿蚀刻技术无法满足所有的释放要求。在本文中，我们提出了一种普遍适用的解决方案，以受控且均匀的方式释放具有不同表面积的 MEMS 结构，该解决方案将二氟化氙对牺牲硅支撑结构的各向同性蚀刻与通过深度反应离子蚀刻制成的预定义蚀刻表面相结合。介绍了这种牺牲网格释放技术的两个应用，其中 MEMS 器件在绝缘体上硅晶片中释放。所展示的应用涉及面内尺寸范围从几十微米到几毫米的微结构的释放。牺牲硅结构提供机械支撑，允许在脆弱的 MEMS 结构的工艺流程设计中自由。释放技术还可用于将芯片与晶片分离。