Intelligent silicon substrates for a shorter microsystem design cycle

Abstract:
In order to succeed in consumer markets microsystems have to achieve a very low cost level. This forces device manufacturers to minimize device sizes and make design cycles shorter. The same trend also can be seen in automotive products although high reliability needs and harsh environments set some extra limitations. A silicon wafer manufacturer can help in this by developing more intelligent substrates for customer needs. Possibilities for adding new cost-saving features into silicon wafers designed for microsystem fabrication have been developed. SOI wafers with sealed cavities and gettering of metal impurities in SOI wafers, are given as examples.