Lamb-wave microdevices fabricated on monolithic single crystal silicon wafers

Reliable and inexpensive microdevices that can be used in physical, chemical, biological, and environmental applications are in great demand. Lamb-wave (LW) ultrasonic devices have been shown to be extremely useful for applications in liquid environments. Working LW devices have been fabricated in this investigation on monolithic single crystal membranes using well-established integrated-circuit technology. The detailed fabrication procedure, photoacoustic testing of the piezoelectric material film, and a demonstration of device performance are presented in this paper. In practice, device performance was very sensitive to the surface quality of the membrane structure. This process presents the possibility for further size reduction, increased integration, and large-scale production.