Thick film oxidation of copper in an electroplated MEMS process

Copper forms a porous oxide, allowing the formation of oxide layers up to tens of microns thick to be created at modest processing temperatures. In this work, the controlled oxidation of copper is employed within an all-metal electroplating process to create electrically insulating, structural posts and beams. This capability could eliminate the additional dielectric deposition and patterning steps that are often needed during the construction of sensors, waveguides, and other microfabricated devices. In this paper, copper oxidation rates for thermal and plasma-assisted growth methods are characterized. Time control of the oxide growth enables larger copper structures to remain conductive while smaller copper posts are fully oxidized. The concept is demonstrated using the controlled oxidation of a copper layer between two nickel layers to fabricate nickel inductors having both copper electrical vias and copper oxide support pillars. Nickel was utilized in this demonstration for its resistance against low temperature oxidation and interdiffusion with copper.