Development of injectable polymer-derived ceramics for high temperature MEMS

In this paper, a novel processing technique for fabrication of high temperature MEMS is reported. The process consists of four steps: (1) casting a liquid polymer precursor into molds with desired structures; (2) heating the filled mold for thermosetting the polymer; (3) bonding different solid polymer parts together using the same liquid polymer as an adhesive; (4) converting the polymer to a ceramic by thermal decomposition. The technology allows implementation of MEMS components with complex three-dimensional, multi-layer structures. The resultant polymer-derived ceramics, based-on amorphous alloys of silicon, carbon and nitrogen, can be used at temperatures up to 1500/spl deg/C.