Fabrication of cantilever based mass sensors integrated with CMOS using direct write laser lithography on resist

A CMOS compatible direct write laser lithography technique has been developed for cantilever fabrication on pre-fabricated standard CMOS. We have developed cantilever based sensors for mass measurements in vacuum and air. The cantilever is actuated into lateral vibration by electrostatic excitation and the resonant frequency is detected by capacitive readout. The device is integrated on standard CMOS circuitry. In the work a new direct write laser lithography (DWL) technique is introduced. This laser lithography technique is based on direct laser writing on substrates coated with a resist bi-layer consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on lift-off resist (LOR). Laser writing evaporates the PMMA, exposing the LOR. A resist solvent is used to transfer the pattern down to the substrate. Metal lift-off followed by reactive ion etching is used for patterning the structural poly-Si layer in the CMOS. The developed laser lithography technique is compatible with resist exposure techniques such as electron beam lithography. We demonstrate the fabrication of sub-micrometre wide suspended cantilevers as well as metal lift-off with feature line widths down to approximately 500 nm. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)