Towards space microsystems : design and manufacturing methodologies for CMOS compatible MEMS

The use of standard technologies for ASICs and/or Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) intended for space has the potential of a significative cost reduction, which, together with increased performance requirements and obsolescence problems, is at the source of the current interest on the use COTS products. The straightforward extension of the COTS concept to the latest developments of the mainstream semiconductor industry is the use of already available intellectual property (IP) in the development of ASICs optimally matched to the end product specifications. A short time-to-market is the driving force, and it can only be achieved through the use of fine tuned and tightly integrated CAD tools. A major hurdle to this development for space electronic systems resides on the lack of data on the radiation tolerance of standard commercial ASIC technologies. This void is felt even more acutely in the development of integrated MEMS, and emerging technology that holds the promise of a new generation of compact spacecrafts and instruments. Moreover, CAD tools are generally not yet MEMS-aware, and MEMS libraries are virtually inexistent. The work at TIMA has sought to address each one of these shortcomings, and the efforts pertinent to the development of space microsystems are described in this paper. The design and manufacturing methodologies of CMOS compatible MEMS, developed at TIMA, are presented with a demonstration on a micromachined infra-red imaging sensor scheduled to fly (as a passenger) on the STENTOR satellite.